The Grey Girl
by iwantsprezzatura
Summary: "You're Richard Roper, aren't you? He talks about you all the time." - His smile was broadening. "Does he do me justice?" - Hardly, she thought. "He makes you sound more sinister." OC-centered, maybe Roper/OC -please read&review!
1. For Your Entertainment

**Hi there. Thanks for clicking on my story.  
** **I apologize for any and all linguistic mistakes. I am not native speaker, so please bear with me ;)**

 **Also, you all know it, but still: I do not own anything you recognize, be it characters, places, dialogue or storylines.**

 **The beginning of this first chapter might be dipping into M-rating territory, but the rest of the story is not, so... there.  
Enjoy :)**

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 **For Your Entertainment**

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He groaned and jerked inside her. His skin rubbed against her - Nina moaned, pretending pleasure where there was none. Indeed, it stung where she should have been best protected. His head tilted back and she turned hers away. Auburn hair fanned around her, strands sticking to her face.  
She was sweating. He was sweating. Where they met, their skins made an ugly smacking sound.  
He was moving faster now; the bed kept heading the wall above her head. She tightened her legs around his hips - just to end it, for now.

The end came; he sagged against her. Nina let her legs drop and her arms fall. He rolled off her and cold air hit her damp skin. It was refreshing, but she still reached for the blanket to cover herself up.

When she moved, he turned his head to look at her. His upper lip pulled back in a sneer and he wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand.  
She flinched when the same hand reached out to push the hair out of her face.

He grunted. "You've been better," he said, the Slavic accent even more prominent in his exhaustion. "Before."

Fear shot through her like an arrow. "I'm sorry."

He pulled a face and pushed away. She pulled the blanket tighter around her as he got up and walked across the room to the bowl of water and the washcloth. The maids did that sort of thing for him - as if he was an ancient king above using such mundane things like a sink or a shower.

"David," she asked, figuring this was the best time she would come across. "About tonight-"

"Yes," he said. "You will absolutely need to come."

Nina did not dare say that she did not want to. He knew it, but he would not like hearing it. He did not like hearing from her as a general rule.

"I just don't want to be a bother," she said, because he always considered her a bother but never bothered engaging with her. If he found another girl tonight, he would take her up whether she was by his side or not.

"Aw," he made and the sound made her skin crawl. "But I _need_ you tonight. Langbourne's missed you last time..."

Last time, she had been bleeding and useless - not that he ever actually let any other man have her. She hated it nonetheless when he pretended; also because she never knew how far he would take the charade.

He was done with his washing and strolled over to her. Her shoulders pulled up. His fingers traced over her cheek, just a little too hard.

"No need for underwear, tonight," he said.

She felt like she wanted to vomit, but nodded anyway. He patted her cheek, like you would a pet or a small child. He left her without another word, stalking out of the room still stark-naked, probably to the dismay of any maid or busboy that encountered him next.

For about ten minutes, Nina remained rooted to the bed - she did not want him to catch her bending over looking for her clothes if he decided to come back. When she was finally sure, or as sure as she could be, she clambered out of bed and began looking for her shirt and pants on the floor.  
He had teared her bra, which was a shame, because it had been both beautiful and expensive. Not that she had paid for it herself. She could not remember when she had last paid for anything herself.

She fished her Chanel shirt out from under the bed and pulled it over her head. Her flannel pants she found tossed over the couch, much like she had been roughly half an hour before.

Nina did the best she could to avoid eye contact when she left the room - ot wherever she went, really. The staff kept glancing at her with a pity that made her stomach turn and David's goons were not to be trusted. It was better to fly under the radar as long as she could manage it.

Her bare feet traced over the cold floor. The opulence of the place still made her head spin whenever the whiteness of the marble blinded her or her fingers traced over the ridges in a Roman-like pillar.  
David came from a poor background; he had made a living trading drugs and weapons - and probably also girls, though she could not be sure. Originally from the Baltic, he now loved to stay in Mediterranean regions; like in this villa in Greece, which he casually called a dacha.

"Miss Nina!" The staffer was shaking under the large garment bag he was carrying. "The boss send me with this for you-"

"Great," she said, less enthusiastically then she would have liked. "Right this way."

She lead him to her room, which was already busting with shirts, shoes, and dresses just like the one she had undoubtedly now received. If there was a good thing about David, it was that he was not stingy. He would have bought her anything - sometimes he disliked her asking, but usually, that was the least of his problems.

She sharply closed a drawer full of letters, all addressed in her older sister's neat handwriting to _Miss Elena Morris_ \- she had not read even one of them.

The staffer laid the garment bag carefully out on her queen-size bed. He turned again, clasping his hands behind his back. Nina dreaded that he might bow to her; who knew what David made them do.

"Thanks," she said. "That'll be all."

He inclined his head and scurried out of the room. Nina did not turn until the door fell shut behind her; then she hurried to lock the door. David would throw a fit if he found out she locked the door, but she could not help herself.

The dress he had sent her was beautiful - another Chanel piece if she judged correctly - with a black ground and a colourful flower pattern atop. She had no doubt it would fit like a glove; David knew her measures better than she did herself.

Her eyes fell on the drawer again and she wondered what Maria would say if she could see her now; her sister would definitely disapprove, but she would disapprove no matter what Nina did. It was one of the reasons that she had not spoken to her sister for at least five years.  
Back then, she had not been with David, but with someone just like him - she had the vague suspicion that David had robbed that first man of all his money and maybe even of his life; she never asked what David meant when he said he would take care of things.

She suspected, though, and it was because of it that Nina did her best to please David in whichever way he deemed fit. Even when he needed her as arm candy and more at a party that she did not want to go to. In comparison, that was the least of things.

The dress was even more beautiful when she wore it. She had been right before, it fit perfectly - as she turned in front of the mirror, Nina had the vague thought that she would not have fit into it two years ago.

David only threw lavish parties, where the alcohol flowed like the metaphorical milk and honey and music was played by orchestras. The men wore Gucci suits and the women either flowing robes or too-short cocktail dresses. Surprisingly, she was somewhere in between that day.

"Ah!" David found her as she walked into the ballroom and stopped at the balustrade above. "My beautiful flower."

"What a party," she said carefully.

He did not answer her. Instead, his hand found the small of her back and he lead her forward; he was not gentle about it and she quickened her step. One of his goons whistled as they reached the steps.  
David was careful enough not to push anymore; it was a challenge as such to walk down the steps in those heels even without him hassling her.

"The dress suits you," he said.

"Your taste is impeccable," Nina said. "As usual."

He smiled and when they reached the bottom of the stairs, his arm wrapped around her waist instead of pushing her. "Langbourne's already asked about you," he said.

Langbourne was another man's lawyer and regularly attended parties like this in his boss's name. The man he worked for was a bit of a legend - and one who David constantly tried to one-up. He never succeeded.

"He's creepy," she said.

"Ah, come now," he said. His hand strayed down and he squeezed her arse. "Don't be a prude."

Nina did not consider herself a prude, but ducked her head anyway and nodded quickly. He was satisfied with that and handed her a glass of champagne that he had plucked from a waiter's tray as they passed.

"Hibic!" One of David's goons approached, hastily looking over his shoulder. "I'm worried about Langbourne."

David drank his own glass dry. "Why?"

"He's in unusually good spirits," the goon said. "And he's been hinting all night that Roper's got some big deal ahead..."

"We don't need to worry about that," David said sharply. "Negotiations with his partners are going well. They'd be stupid to stick with him"

His man scratched his head. "What if Roper knows?"

Fear shook his voice, but David knew no such thing. Nina had never seen him afraid, or even worried, though she had experienced all other facets of his emotions, from devastating anger to jubilant happiness.

"He doesn't know," David said. "Don't piss yourself."

Nina pulled a face at his language and he luckily did not notice. Instead, he patted her arse once more and left with his goon, who was clearly not convinced.T he crowd parted for the two of them, like the sea did for Moses. As soon as they walked away, he started talking again, this time gesticulating wildly.

She had only ever heard the name 'Roper' spoken with a mixture of fear and awe, but she had never met him. Surely David had met him in business meetings, but 'Roper' could not be bothered to attend any parties or social gatherings here.  
She had asked Langbourne about it once, out of sheer boredom, and he had smiled indulgently. _"The chief prefers his parties with less... pomp and circumstance."_  
Nina sometimes thought that she would have liked to meet that Roper.

It was not as easy for, but she pushed her way through towards the buffet. While David was not watching and voicing his disapproval, she would use the chance to get some food into her. Now that she thought about it, her stomach had been growling all day; she was not entirely sure when she had last eaten.

Once she stood in front of the food, the whole thing did not seem as easy any more. Nina was not sure _what_ to eat - was grilled cheese just right or was it too much for her empty stomach?

Helpless, she let her gaze drift once more and hoped that her hunger would settle the matter fo her. There were more men moving through the crowd now; not mingling, but as if they had a goal. First she thought that they might have been David's cronies, but on further inspection, she did not recognize any of them.

An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. Had David's man been right in the end? Was something fishy going on? Her fingers curled around the edge of the buffet table and she looked around for Langbourne. She could not spot him anywhere.  
Her heart rate sped up. This honestly did not look too good. She should hide. Once, just once, had she been there when things had escalated around David and the gunshots were still echoing in her dreams.

There was a tall, broad man coming her way whose face seemed like it had been formed by throwing features vaguely at a canvas. She had the childish notion of climbing under the table. She shifted sideways instead, hoping not to draw any attention to herself.

People around her had started to notice, too. They were turning around to watch the men, pointing, calling for David. She wondered if she should have done that, too, but then they would definitely notice her.

Nina was walking backwards now. It was probably dangerous, but she needed to keep her eyes on them, especially the men with the butchered face. If only she could get to David, he would be able to keep her safe.

Someone grabbed her from behind. Gloved fingers dug painfully into her skin and a scream was torn from her throat. One hand left her arm and instead was slapped on her mouth. She bit down as hard as she could and the man that had grabbed her cursed.

"Bitch!" he hissed.

The butchered man was in front of her now, his jaw set. People were screaming around her and Nina was trying to kick, kick the man the behind her, or the one in front of her, no matter, she just wanted to hurt. She tried to twist her arm out of the grip, but only managed to hurt herself.

Suddenly, something was pulled over her face. The world went dark around her, although the shouting did not cease. Nina fought as hard as she could when they tried to drag her away, but she did not have the weight or strength to set against them. She thought she might have kicked one of them in the stomach, because her feet hit something softer than table or wall and she heard one of them groan.

"Hey!" David was calling after her. Shots were fired. Wild hope soared inside her. David was here, David would come to her rescue. "Hey, bring her back!"

They would not bring her back, Nina knew, but maybe, possibly, they would manage to shoot them before they could take her away... what if they shot her?  
Cool air hit her skin and the heel of her shoe caught in the cobblestone pavement. David's voice sounded again, shouting insults and threats.

The man dragging her let out an exaggerated laugh that made her stomach turn. "The chief will be in touch!"

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 **So, I'm not entirely sure what I expect of this story, because I honestly don't know if anyone's interested in reading, but it needed to get out of my brain and here it is.  
If you do read and like it, then please feel free to leave me a review - it would make me very happy :)**


	2. Alone With Everybody

**Well, thanks to to "guest" for reviewing, it's very much appreciated - it's also more than I expected ;)**

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 **Alone With Everybody**

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They dragged her away; their fingers digging painfully into her arms and sides. Nina gave it her all: she kicked and twisted and bit and her captor groaned from time to time, but it was not nearly enough.  
Eventually, the gunshots and shouts died away. Her heart sank. David was not coming to save her; he had stayed behind. She did not know a lot, but she knew that he would not come after her.

They propped her up and pushed her into a car. Whatever they had pulled over her head still obstructed her sight, but she heard the rearing of the engine. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she fought hard to keep them at bay. When they removed her hood, she did not want them to see her crying.

Nina was not sure of time anymore. They could have been driving five minutes or an hour. A part of her wanted to ask where they were taking her, but she did not dare. So far, they had been rough, but had not truly hurt her - she did not want that to change.  
They were talking in low, rumbling voices, and she could not make out what they were discussing; Nina was not sure if she wanted to know.

Without outside reference, it was difficult to say how fast they were going, but she wagered they were breaking the speed limit. Her head was spinning and she was getting dizzy with the movement, because whoever was driving sure liked to hit the curves.  
The wheels were screeching when they finally braked and the car came to a shuddering stop. She slid from her place on the backseat and hit her head on what was probably the driver's seat.

She squeaked and one of the men in front cursed. The door opened and they pulled her out. Her head throbbed and the darkness around her was spinning. She could not get her feet on the ground and fell. Her knees scraped against the harsh stone floor.

One of them gripped her under the arms and hauled her up. She tried to ram her elbow back into him, but he dodged her blow and it went into nothingness. Instead, he pushed her forward and, stumbling, she followed his guidance.  
Water was gurgling around her - had they brought her to the seaside? Her stomach dropped. Did they want to drown her?

"Hey, Corky!" one of her captors called and a vague shout was the answer. "Well, don't fuck around, let the ramp down, we need to get her on board!"

She had to gasp for air, but Nina felt somewhat lighter. Those words did not sound like they planned on drowning her, at the very least not now.

Whoever this Corky person was, he let down the ramp, for there was a metallic clank nearby. They pushed her forward again and lead her up the ramp. Once she reached the top, she noticed the ground swaying beneath her feet.

"Did'ya rough up her face or why'd you pull that ugly rug over it?" someone said. "I thought she was supposed to be pretty?"

One of her captors huffed. "Chief's orders," he said. "She's not supposed to see where we're going."

"Well bit of good," the first voice said. "We're making for open sea, anyway, nothing to do about it. Take her below, then."

Her throat closed up and she wanted to cry again. If David had been coming despite her expectations, this would be the last straw for him. He would not follow them across the sea, wherever they were going. Not for her.

Nina did not fight when they pushed her forward this time. They shouted an order at her to watch her step as they went down a steep flight of stairs, and then another. Her heels sunk into the soft floor and she figured it had to be carpeted. Squeaking, a door opened in front of her and Nina was pushed inside.

The floor was not carpeted there. In fact, her heels now caused a shrill metallic echo. They dragged her now, not caring to make her walk by herself anymore.  
She was pushed down on her knees and her arms pulled back. She allowed herself a small groan of pain as they were bound together around some sort of pillar behind her back.

"Sure whines a lot, doesn't she?" one of them said. The other let out a shout of cruel laughter.

Metal dragged, screeching, against metal as the door closed. Then she was alone.  
They had not removed the sack over her head and she wondered if it let enough air through to allow her survival. It had not sounded as if her captors wanted her dead, though, or what was the point of keeping her - literally - in the dark about where they were?

Nina strained her arms to test the bonds and sagged immediately. She would never be able to get out of them. If only she had trained for such situations - with a man like David, it really had only been a matter of time. Surely there was some nifty technique that helped in such situations, but if Nina had ever seen one, she could not remembered anymore.  
Her head hit the pillar behind her with a soft thud, but she did not care. Instead, she pressed her eyes closed; she was suddenly feeling very tired.

The door opened again, creaking and scraping against the floor. Heavy footsteps came towards her and Nina shrank into herself.  
The sack was pulled of her face and she found her hair stuck all over her face. A sparsely furnished room came into view - there were a few chairs and a metal locker in her line of sight and she wondered why anyone would bother having such a room on a ship.

Then, she noticed the people standing around her. One of them was the man with the butchered face; another was shorter, with narrowed eyes.

One was a man probably approaching fifty, who looked nothing like she would have expected to find around here. He was wearing casual clothes, though they fit in a way that suggested they had been costly. The lines in his face were hard, but he seemed utterly relaxed.  
The people around him hung back, but she would not have needed that clue to know he was the leader - it radiated off him.

Nina's eyes were torn from the man because someone else entered the room. Her throat clenched when she realized who it was - Langbourne, who had been so suspicious at David's party. Which could only mean one thing for the man in front of her.

She spoke while the language of her discovery still carried her. "You're Richard Roper, aren't you?"

He cracked a smile, one that only pulled one side of his mouth into a smirk. "What makes you say that?"  
His voice was rough, but strangely pleasant. Like the sea in England, she thought, wild and gentle at the same time.

Nina shifted to relieved the pressure of the pillar's edge against her spine. "Hibic talks about you all the time," she said.

He might have been intrigued, but she could not be sure. His smile was broadening and his cronies were cackling.  
"Does he do me justice?" Roper asked.

 _Hardly_ , she thought. David had made him seem like... well, like David himself. Like a man who had refined his own manners and not done a very good job at it. Like a man who had to rub it in everyone's face that he had made himself rich and that he had not been gentle about it.  
Richard Roper was more refined. She did not doubt that he could be ruthless; she had just been treated first hand to his methods. But he had... class. It was obvious in the way he carried himself.

"He makes you sound more sinister," Nina said.

He seemed almost gleeful this time. His smirk turned into an actual grin. At the sight, Nina wondered if my words had been a mistake. She would never have dared show that cheek too David; why had she thought talking like that to this man was a good idea?

"It seems I'll have to teach him some manners," Roper said and, with a quirk of his eyebrow, added, "And perhaps you, as well."

Her stomach twisted painfully and she felt sick. She did not want to find out how exactly Richard Roper taught someone manners. David had always been predictable in his anger, but she had no idea what this man would do.

He had made his way back across the room; indeed, his hand had already reached out for the door handle. His presence made her hair stand on end and her skin prickle, but him leaving was somehow even worse.

"Wait!"

Roper froze. His men turned expectantly to look at him, but he did not face her or acknowledge her cry. She did not care - she knew what he was waiting for.  
If there was one thing she knew, it was when to switch sides. David had once appreciated that about her. He would not appreciate it now.

Lacking any prompting, she drew in a deep breath and said, "I'm willing to talk."

One of his men, the short one, let out an exaggerated laugh, while Roper slowly faced her again. "I never said I wanted you to talk."

She licked her lips. Had she miscalculated? "Surely," she said. "You don't think to blackmail Hibic? He'll find twenty other whores before he tries to free me. He won't pay even a cent."

His eyes narrowed but slightly. They had a light blue colour which was really nothing special, but his gaze was captivating, intense. It wandered up and down her form as if in deep thought. She shivered under his gaze.

"I'll think about it," he said.

Tears rose in her eyes again; her hands flexed in her bonds. He could not leave her here!  
Before she quite knew how it had happened, she had called out something she had not said in a long time. "Please!"

It came out strangled, more like a sob than a yell and it was very firmly ignored. Her kidnapper held the door open for Roper, who strut out, followed by Langbourne and the shorter man. The door fell shut behind them with finality and she could not hold the tears back any longer.

Nina sagged forward and her arms strained against the bonds. A sharp pain shot through her torso - she wondered if she could dislocate her shoulder like this. She flexed her fingers, twisted her joints, but the bonds would not budge.  
She would not have known where to go from here, either way.

Nina let herself fall back against the pillar, sobbing for good now. She could not believe that things had come to this.  
The whole point of being with David - if there was any point to it at all - had been being safe. And now? This was, perhaps not by far, but at least by a considerable margin, the worst situation she had ever found herself in.

There was no negotiating with Richard Roper, that she was sure of. There would be no swaying him with pretty words or a flirty glance. Roper clearly knew better than that.  
If he wanted to torture her, he would. If he wanted to kill her, he would.

She choked on her crying. Tears and snot were running down her face and she wished even more that she had her hands free. She would not even run, Nina thought to herself. She would just go looking for a Kleenex.  
Once more, the back of her head hit the edge of the pillar. They could not possibly have tied her up even more uncomfortably.

Her eyes closed. Nina was _exhausted_. She was hungry, she could not breathe.  
If she slept, maybe this would turn out to just be some very vivid nightmare and when she opened her eyes, she would be back in the relative safety of David's bed. She had not thought that she would long for that place eventually.  
Would they come back here when she slept? What would they do? It had not seemed as if they wanted to hurt her just now.

No, she thought vaguely, this was definitely about David and whatever he had planned. They had taken her for punishment and for blackmail. Nina felt queasy thinking about what they would do when they found out her words had been true: David did not care enough to be blackmailed for her.

Her eyes were burning even behind her lids. _"Please,_ " she whispered to herself again, even though no one could hear her and wished that she could pray. Nina did not know how, anymore.  
The pillar was still digging into her head and spine, but it became increasingly less irritating. Indeed, the pain faded into a soft buzzing in the back of her head.

Then, the darkness overtook her and she fell, slowly and surely, into the blissfull nothingness of sleep. Her last thought was that her back would kill her when she woke up.

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 **If you found your way here and enjoyed it, then please leave me a review - it would make me very happy :)**


	3. For Your Eyes Only

**So, thanks to the nice people who fav'd and followed and I hope y'all enjoy the new chapter.**

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 **For Your Eyes Only**

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The engine of the ship was roaring in her ears when Nina woke up again. The muscles in her neck and arms were screaming, still locked in the same position that they had been tied in.  
How long had she slept? She did not feel rested, but rather even more tired than before. It might have been merely minutes, but she doubted it.  
In her imagination, they had already sailed halfway around the world, as far away from safety as she could get.

Her back was killing her. She could not stay like this - surely they could not expect any human being to stay like this? They had to tie her loose, change the position at least.

Once again, her sense of time was lost. She did not know if she was sitting like that for a minute or for hours. Her muscles were burning, she was close to tears again - this time from the pain - and her eyes felt swollen and heavy.  
Then, finally, Nina heard footsteps outside. Tears spilled over once more as relief rushed through her. Finally - finally!

It was the shorter man from before. He had seemed cheerful yesterday, but was more guarded now. Indeed, he eyed her up and down like she was some wild animal. She did not think she could have fought right now if her life depended on it. A pit in her stomach said that it might as well be the case.

"Chief said to come and get you," the man announced. "Figures I can handle you by myself."

She thought a man much weaker than this one could have handled her. A child could have handled her.

"You'll behave?"

Her voice was hoarse. "Of course."

He huffed. "Seems Hibic's beat some sense into you."

Her stomach turned. David had not beat her. That was... only sometimes. Only on very rare occassions, only when he was - that was- She hated that this man knew anything about her, when she did not even know his name.  
She did not bother to ask.

He untied her hands and for a moment she wished that he had not. As the position changed, her arms hurt even worse and felt like they would fall off right at that moment. She held back her cry by biting down hard on her lower lip.

"Well, up you go," the man ordered. It felt like she was stabbed in the neck - or perhaps somewhere between the shoulder blades - when he grabbed her arm and pulled upwards.  
She had pins and needles in her foot, but at least she could still feel them - her left hand had gone completely numb.

Staggering, she followed as he pulled and pushed her out into hallway. She had expected the kind of metallic decor that came with machinery, but it indeed looked like the most prestigious deck of a luxury cruise ship. She had correctly guessed the carpeted floor - it was burgundy red.

They climbed a narrow set of stairs and arrived on deck. The sea wind hit her face and let her hair wave in the breeze. They were cutting through the sea more quickly than she would have believed downstairs.  
Another staircase was their goal, this one more broad and fabulous than the one before. As they made their way towards it, a child, a boy of maybe seven or eight cut through their path.

"Hey!" her bodyguard called out. "Watch where you're going!"

"You watch!" the boy shot back. "Don't be a buzzkill, Corky!"

So her man's name was Corky, the one who had let the ramp down yesterday.

The boy pushed some of his brown locks out of his face. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing to her.

Oh God. Nina realized they were letting this child, this boy with his wide eyes and chubby cheeks, witness a kidnapping. "Friend of your Dad's," Corky bit back.

"Are you coming with us to the island?" the boy asked, this time directly facing her.

Corky's grip tightened on her arm. "Don't ask so many questions."

The boy glared, shrugged, and bolted off in the opposite direction. Her bodyguard continued their way up the stairs.

"Is that Roper's kid?" she dared to ask.

"You don't ask any questions," he said.

So it was Roper's kid. They would not make a secret out of it if he was not. Nina thought that it did not make a lot of sense to bring the boy along to a kidnapping trip - Roper did not otherwise seem prone to such batshit ideas.

The upper deck spread into balconies and luxurious rooms with walls completely taken up by glass. It did not take long to spot Richard Roper, perched behind a desk in one of those rooms and in deep conversation with Sandy Langbourne, who looked a lot more casual than she was used to seeing.

They both looked up when Corky pushed her inside, Langbourne frowning and Roper smiling slightly. Nina tried to square her shoulders, but it was difficult because her back was still burning and Corky was still holding as tight as he could to her arm.  
Roper's eyes ghosted over her, top to bottom, then he glanced at his two cronies. A wave of his hand had Corky let her go and Langbourne leave the room with wide steps.

"You just call, chief," Corky said. "Ol' Corky will be there when you need him."

As if she was any threat to a man like Roper.

Nina stood in front of him, debating whether or not to say something - and if she did want to say something, then: what? She desperately tried to remember what she had first said to David, but could not. It was also easier to flirt at a party then in an interrogation.

"Thirsty?" Roper asked.  
He was drinking some sort of cocktail and she could not think of anything better to worsen her situation than adding alcohol to it. It was an opportunity, though.

She put on the best smile she was capable of. "I would _kill_ for some coffee," she said.

He hummed and got up. His movements were somewhat elegant, but it was so effortless that no one could have taken it bad on him. He poured coffee into a mug and the smell of it filled the room.

"You look incredulous," he commented.

She believed that - Nina could not believe he was actually giving her what she had asked for. "You haven't been very hospitable so far."  
That was definitely not as charming as she had wanted to be.

His lips twitched. "This is a kidnapping, not a cruise."

She took the steaming mug that he was holding out to her. "I didn't chose either of that."

"You did chose David Hibic," he said swiftly, as if that gave him every right to kidnap her, lock her under deck and tie her up.  
Besides, she was not sure what she had chosen anymore. Had she chosen David? Or had he chosen her - or was it just fate that tossed her around whichever way she pleased?

"And you chose me," she said. "Did you really think he would come to my rescue? Or pay ransom?"

He sat down again. "Do you really think he won't?"

"Yes."

His eyebrows shot up, but she was sure. David cared more about every single cent he owned than he did about her. She wanted that knowledge to hurt, but it did not. She had never thought about that aspect of their relationship before, but she had always known. Just as a tiny voice in the back of her head.

His forefinger stroked over his upper lip. She eyed the chair in front of his desk and thought about sitting down, Her back was still hurting, though, and it also seemed safer standing up. He had not even offered her the seat.

"You said you're willing to talk," he said. "Is that your revenge?"

Nina put the mug down in front of him. She had not taken a single sip of it. "It's common sense," she said. "I don't want you to toss me to the sharks."

He smirked. "You'd more likely drown then meet a shark."

"Then that."

He leant back in his chair. "So talk."

She honestly did not know where she found the courage. Perhaps somewhere between the sack on her head or the horrible tied up position she had slept in.  
"I'm not talking without guarantees."

Roper laughed. Goosebumps erupted on her skin - not because it was cruel, or cold, but because it was so genuine and joyful that it did not seem to fit him at all. She knew he was laughing at her, but it did not feel that malicious.

"Ah, Elena..."

"Nina," she corrected automatically. Only her family called her Elena.

His head tilted to the side. "Nina," he repeated. "You're not in a position to negotiate."

"It's either me telling you what I know - and I know a few things, because Hibic thought me to dumb to understand anything he was talking about." She paused to drew in a deep breath. "Or you'll have another murder on your hand, and in front of your boy, too."

His expression had become unreadable. Her stomach twisted and she felt she knew why David and his goons had been afraid of him. He would throw her over board now, she was sure, and Nina honestly hoped that she would drown before the sharks got to her.

"So," he said. "What do you want?"

Her jaw went slack. She could not believe that had worked - was this all it took to make the great Richard Roper waver? Mention his son?  
She had to sit down now. Her knees shook and she plopped down on the seat without asking.

"Well?"

"I-"  
What did she want? She had not thought about before, which seemed silly, but she had not thought she would get this far. All she knew was that she was terribly afraid and tired of feeling like this.  
"You have to promise," she said before she quite knew how it happened. "That I'll be safe. Even after we leave this ship. If David finds me again... whether I have actually said anything or not, he will assume I have and he... I mean... You probably know better than I what he'll do."

He did not answer her and she inched forward on her chair. "You have to keep me safe," she repeated. "That's what I want."

Roper still was not giving anything away. She did not think she was asking for anything unreasonable. If there was any man that could keep her safe in this world, it was Richard Roper. He knew what the worst man in the world would do, because that was who he was.

The door opened and she flinched violently. Roper did not turn towards the door, but pulled a face.  
It was the butchered-faced man from yesterday. He did not seem half a scary by the light of day. Maybe it was just Roper's presence that made him more docile.

"Chief," he said. "We'll reach the island twenty minutes."

"Thanks, Frisky." Roper did not sound grateful at all. "I'll be down soon."

 _Frisky_ , she thought. What sort of name was that?  
The man nodded like a secretary who had just been told to type something down and closed the door again - not behind him, but in front of him, because he backed out. Maybe he was not a secretary, but a servant from the 19th century.

"Fine," Roper said sharply. "We'll get you a nice little room on the island until I've dealt with Hibic."

"Are you going to kill him?"

"Do you care?"

She did. Not even twenty-four hours ago, David had been her entire world - how could she not care if he lived or died?  
Though it did not really matter. At the very least, Roper would not care if David lived or died, so why should she weigh in? Besides, it was not like she could go back to David.

"And when were there, you'll tell me all you know," Roper said. "Deal?"

He held his hand out to her. She stared at it, quite unsure if he really wanted her to take it. Nina could not remember when she had last shaken a man's hand. His grip was firm, yet gentle.

"Deal."

Roper allowed her to walk free and she would never have believed how good that felt. He did not pay much attention to her once they made their way onto the deck.  
Nina stopped at the top of the stairs even when Roper bound down. His boy ran towards him and was effortlessly caught. They seemed happy, she thought, and normal. The child's laughter rang in her ears even over the roaring of the wind and the strain of the machines.

The island they kept talking about had come into view. It was a small place, but it stood out without doubt. Elegant white buildings rose between pines and palm trees. It looked perhaps more like a luxurious resort than any individual's residence.  
The yacht was slowing down as they got closer to the shore. Beside the green and white, colourful flowers came into view now; pink roses and white brooms - she wondered if the buildings were filled by the flowers' scent.

"He, missy!" It was that Corky guy again, calling out to her from below. "We'll be going by motor boat from here. Come along or die at sea."

What a cheerful man. She already regretting not asking for Roper to just drop her off in Barcelona - she could have gone wherever she wanted from there and not put up with this - were there not any women around here?

"So you're really coming along?" the boy asked when Nina reached the group. With a jolt, he turned back to his father. "What's Mum say about that?"

"That's none of your mum's business," Roper said swiftly. "And she won't stay long."

He ushered them to a ladder to climb into the motor boat waiting beneath, the boy skipping along happily once again. Langbourne caught the boy at the bottom and Roper gestured for her to climb after them. Corky and Frisky were laughing behind her back.  
She really wished that Roper was right. She had not even arrived yet and her stay was already too long.

* * *

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	4. When Will My Life Begin?

**After hours of errors on this _wonderful_ website, I'm finally able to upload! Thanks to those who read and alerted since last week and I hope y'all enjoy the new chapter :)  
**

* * *

 **When Will My Life Begin?**

* * *

They drove up a winding access road. Vines and olive trees lined their way and the setting sun bathed them in comfortable, red light.  
The car came to a stop on a rondel in front of the house. The doors were thrown open; boss and crew poured out. Despite the heat that made her skin sticky, Nina wrapped her arms around herself. What now?

Frisky and a few men she did not recognize started unloading luggage. The child was already running as fast as his feet could carry him.  
Langbourne and Corky were strolling upwards, through a white, stony archway and her fingers clenched even tighter around her upper arms. Her fingertips almost met and she was reminded of times when she had thought her arms were too wobbly.

Roper had put on sunglasses, but she could still feel him looking her up and down. "You're not sleeping down there," he said, nodding to Frisky, who carried a worn-out suitcase down a drooping walkway. "I'm not letting you that far out of my sight."

She felt a little lighter now.

Roper did not spare her another glance, but he waved for her to follow him. They walked through the archway and came out in between trees and walls. Perhaps this had once been a fortress - it certainly was formed like one.

She was sure that Roper had paid more money for this place than she would see in a lifetime, but it did not look like it. David's place had always radiated that a man had tried to display all of his money. Roper's place looked like he just wanted a beautiful, cozy place to enjoy his life.  
"You like?" Roper commented.

She only then noticed that she had stopped and stared. "It's very beautiful," Nina said.

"I had the impression you were used to better," he said.

She shook her head, partly because she did not like to argue and partly because she might have been used to _more_ , but did not consider that better.

The inside of the house was cooler, even though windows were everywhere and light filled every corner. The slight breeze of the air conditioning tickled her skin.  
She _loved_ it. She hated that she loved it.

The laughter of Roper's son rang through the place. Roper let out a yell, telling him to calm it down. They climbed a wide flight of stairs and reached a sort of balcony. She counted three doors before Roper pulled one open and stepped aside to let her in.

"Your room," he said simply.

It was even better. Out of the window, she could see both the pool and the sea. The furniture - bed, desk and dresser - were held in a dark wood and there was a long mirror with an intricate white frame.

"This okay?" Roper said.

"Of course," she said. "This is very nice."

He took the glasses off. "I'll ask Caroline to lend you some clothes," he said. "And we'll get you a few things tomorrow."

She did not know who Caroline was, but nodded along faithfully. Whoever it was, Nina would be glad to get out of this dress, which was covered in grease and sweat and the only shoes she had were heels that were killing her. She would take whatever she was offered.

"There'll be dinner at eight," Roper said. "Half an hour, that is."

"I'm not hungry," she said automatically.

His eyebrows pulled together. Her mouth opened to tell him that she would come to dinner, of course, if that was what he wanted, but he was quicker than she was.  
"Suit yourself," he said. "See you in the morning."

He turned and left, closing the door behind him. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She could not believe he would just let her be like that - why? Was this some sort of intricate manipulation? She did not know what could possibly be his goal.

There was a key in the lock and she darted over to turn it three times. She pulled on the handle to make sure the door was truly locked - it would not budge. A deep sigh of relief left her.

She ignored the grumbling of her stomach, kicked off her shoes and let herself drop on the bed. It was wonderfully soft.  
Within seconds, her eyes closed and her mind drifted off. Even the setting sun shining on her face could not keep her from sleep.

The door was still locked when she woke again with the sunrise. She checked twice. Just to be sure.  
Then Nina tip-toed across the room and to the adjucent bathroom. Birds were chirping outside, but the house was quiet. Perhaps this was the best time to go exploring - no one would bother at five in the morning.

She found a set of clothes on her doorstep: t-shirt and shorts, as well as a floral dress. All of them were too large for her, but she did not much care. She used the belt on top of the pile to pin the clothes to her body and, barefoot, went on her tour.

The whole thing was even grander than Nina had thought yesterday, and she liked it even more. It was sort of... picturesque. Basked in the pink glow of the rising sun, this place seemed like heaven. It was what she had always imagined the south to be like when she had been a child in England.

She had made for the pool, but changed her way when she found there were already people at work, cleaning the water of any fallen leaves and the like.

Instead, her feet carried her down a cobbled walkway to the beach. The waves were gently brushing against the sand and her toes sank into the moist ground. It had been years since she had walked barefoot on the beach.

"Up so early?"

Nina flinched and her heart skipped a beat. Above her, on a walkway that cut the slope up to the house, stood Corky and looked absolutely pleased with himself.

"The light woke me," she said.

"Should've drawn the curtains, then," he said.

Her fingernails dug deep into her palms. "Says a lot about how tired I was."  
Though tired, she thought, was an understatement. Profound exhaustion, more like it. Indeed, some of that exhaustion was creeping back in right now.

"Chief's said so much," Corky said. Ignoring the pathway mere feet beside him, he trotted down the slope, more sliding on the sand than walking.  
"He's been very lenient with you," he continued. "But he won't like you walking off."

She picked at her hair-ends. "I'm not trying to run away," Nina said.

"Yeah, I don't give a fuck."  
He was definitely too close now. Corky was glaring at her and she wondered how long it would take to just dig a hole in the sand and disappear in it.  
"I'm going to keep an eye on you and if you set one foot out of line, one foot," he paused for dramatic effect. "You're going to wish that Hibic caught you."

Her heart was beating violently. It made her voice come out breathy and small. "I don't mean to be any trouble."

He shrugged and she shrank even further. Every fiber of her being wished that she had never unlocked the door that morning - what had she been thinking, trying to walk freely through this place?  
Corky gestured to the pathway and Nina made towards it as fast as her feet would carry her. If only that took her away from him.

She did not dare look in the direction of the pool again, or at anything else, really. The sun had risen far enough to enlighten the entire house and there was the vague smell of coffee in the air.  
It made her feel sick.

Nina slammed the door to her room shut behind her and locked it again. Before she knew it, she was on the floor with her back against the door and tried to sob without making a sound.

No one came looking for her. She could hear people rummaging about the house, she could hear Roper's son laughing, screaming and crying - but no one even stopped by her door.  
Her stomach was rumbling, but she ignored it. She only tip-toed across the room once to get some water from the tap in the bathroom.

Afterwards, she laid down on the bed. Her eyes found a spot on the ceiling that was not faultlessly white. The sun travelled across the sky, but she barely noticed it. The room around her heated and cooled again and she laid there and barely moved.  
The sun sank again and she could hear Roper and his people outside, probably having dinner.

Nina locked the door twice more before she felt she could sleep, though it did not come as easily this time. She was slightly dizzy with hunger and her eyes were puffy and burned.  
 _Could be worse_ , she told herself. _At least you're not tied up anymore_.  
Yes, at least. Instead, she had locked herself in, which was just barely better. She just could not go out and face them. She was safer when she kept her distance and did not get in anyone's way.

There was a bowl of cold porridge on her doorstep the next morning. For a short moment, she considered that it might be poisoned, but the demand of her stomach quickly cancelled out her doubts.  
She still lived an hour later, when there was a knock at her door. She curled herself tighter into her blanket and hoped that whoever it was would go away. They did not.

"Are you there?"  
It was Roper's kid. Dear God, it was the kid. She did not know how to talk to children.  
"Corky wants to know why you don't come out!"

She gritted his teeth. This Corky person could not even leave her alone now. "Does your Dad know you're here?" she asked. Her voice was hoarse and raspy.

There was a short silence. "He doesn't need to," came the petulant answer.

Nina sat up. So Corky was setting the kid up to spy on her and that without Roper's knowledge. "You can tell Corky I'm in my line."

"I'm not a letter pigeon!"

"Then don't tell him," she said.

There was another silence and she thought he might have gone away. "I'll tell him," he called.

"Great," she said.

Nina could actually hear him leave this time, because he made a point of stomping away. Five minutes later, he yelled her response to Corky right beneath her window.

The next knock came two days later.

Nina had somehow managed not to leave the room, and to live on that one bowl of porridge that got dropped off in the morning, but the borrowed clothes had started to crust with sweat in places and were also starting to smell like it. She would have liked some new ones but did not dare go out and ask for it.  
She would have also liked to eat something other than porridge, but the same rule applied. Besides, she was not sure if she could have eaten without vomiting, anyway.

"Elena, _darling._ "  
It was Roper. Her shoulders pulled up and she wished she could have vanished into thin air.  
"You promised me information!"

She had. She had been so obsessed with not making a fuss that Nina had all but forgotten that there was a price to pay for this wonderful room.  
She rolled to the edge of her mattress and padded to the door. The vague thought that she was not presentable crossed her mind, but she cancelled it out - there was no helping it, anyway.

Roper's eyebrows rose when she opened the door. "You look..."

"Terrible, I know," she said. "Does it matter to you?"

He pulled a face, but reached for something out of her sight and pulled. As if she had stepped into a less-Hollywood version of the _Devil Wears Prada_ , he showed her a rolling clothes rack overflowing with dresses, shirts and shorts.

"I got you a few things," he said.

Her jaw had gone slack and her stomach was clenching. So she had locked herself away while he had spent his time organising her wardrobe. She should have at least been a little nicer to his son.

"How?" Nina asked. It was not the appropriate response, but he did not seem to mind.

His lips twitched. "You left that old dress out, so we knew your size. I took the liberty and went for something more loose-fitting. You looked uncomfortable in that dress."

"It was especially tailored," she said. "David had it made for me."

"I figured," he said.

She did not know what to say. She maybe should have said thank you, or that indeed, she did not mind tight clothes - which she did, but that was another matter - but instead, she mumbled something akin to an apology and disappeared inside to change.  
She grabbed a pair of shorts and a shirt from the rack without looking and found that they indeed were fitting well. She already felt better.

Roper also seemed pleased. He looked her up and down and nodded in approval. Nina followed when he gestured down the hallway. Her arms wrapped around herself and she glanced down the stairs - no one else seemed to be in the house at this hour of the afternoon.

"So do you really know anything?" Roper asked jovially. "Because I'd really hate to have bought those clothes for nothing."

"I do know things," she said. "I don't know if they're useful for you."  
He hummed and she clutched at herself even harder.  
"He's been talking about getting one up one you for at least a year," she said. "It's just that he doesn't include me in conversations, I only know what I could listen into or he didn't care to conceal."

They had reached his office. It was very... white. Both the desk and the sofa were white, as well as the curtains and she had the fleeting thought that those had to be a pain to clean.  
He sat down on the sofa, his arms spreading over the backrest and she stopped a few feet away, unsure what to do now.

"Well?" Roper prompted

She bit her lip. The trouble was, she did not have one consistent story - she had bits and pieces that barely belonged together.  
"He wants to... He wants to get together with some people in Cairo and hopes to kick you out of the equation."

"Hamid's a personal friend," Roper said.

She shrugged. David called a lot of people his friends and none of them actually qualified for the word. "David seemed confident. As I gather, he's also been in contact with someone in South America, and some people in Afghanistan, though I'm not sure if that last one was about you."

He sat up and leant forward, but there was no emotion betrayed on his face. Nina seemed to have hit a nerve there and berated herself for not having paid closer attention - at the time, she had mostly prayed that she would not have to travel all the way to South America. Travelling with David had been a chore.

"He's also been talking about a lot of money, and I think he plans to get it from you through some kind of scam or by force," she continued. "But I can't quite imagine how he would get it and I've never heard any details."

Roper inclined his head. "I can't imagine that either."

She was sure that he was rapidly imagining any way that David could use to get at his money.  
"And he's going for it soon," she said. "At the party you kidnapped me from, they were worried you had found out, but David was sure they could still pull it off. They walked away, then, though, and the rest you know."

He leant back again. His eyebrows had knotted together and she felt she could relax her stance slightly; this seemed like she had indeed known something useful.

"Just so you know," Nina added for good measure. "If the officials catch him, he's going to rat you out first thing. Thinks he'll be the main witness and get off easy."

That broke his frown. Instead, a smirk tugged at his lips. "Let him try," he said.

She did not quite know why, but she smiled as well. He radiated joy and it was catchy - perhaps she was just so starved for happiness that she could not help herself.

"All right," Roper said. "Now have a seat - I have a lot more questions."

* * *

 **Tell me what you think, I'd really appreciate a review :)**


	5. Breathe

**Thanks to everyone who read, fav'd, alerted and most of all to "guest" and fairytale07 for reviewing! It's really appreciated :) Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

 **Breathe**

* * *

Roper pushed a stack of papers towards her across his desk, the last of the papers put on top. She had not read any of the others.  
"You are just going to sign right here," Roper pointed at a dotted line at the bottom of the paper.

Nina raised an eyebrow. She had seen people sign that sort of document before, though she had never had the honour - maybe David had not considered her trustworthy enough or maybe he had never even considered the possibility.  
Richard Roper had considered, though she was not sure if it was a sign of trust. She rather suspected that it was because he did _not_ trust her - and she could not very well blab about his business if she was a part of it.

"And then, what?"

"And then," he said. "We'll send a nice bit of money your way. You'll get to keep a bit of it and send the rest of it on its merry way."

She huffed. He made it sound like this was some everyday transaction, but she knew better.  
"So, money laundering," Nina said. "You realize this is a crime, right? I'd be a criminal."

His lips twitched and his hands splayed even further along the backrest of his couch.  
Corky, who was slouching in an armchair by the window, was shaking his head steadily. Sandy Langbourne had been called to this meeting, too, but he was arguing with his wife and was unavailable.

"You won't get caught," Roper said.

Criminals always said that they would not get caught, just like junkies always said that they did not have a problem or mothers said that their children were the most beautiful babies they had ever seen.  
Nina knew this, because she had spent the last decade with criminals, who all claimed to never get caught and were not all walking free.

Besides, she did not want to be involved with Roper's business. Nina wanted to leave as soon as possible and never see any of them again, much less receive money that she had to hide away.

"Oh come now." This time it was Corky who could not take it anymore. "Live a little! Chief's already said we'll leave some to you, just think of what you could buy with that-"

She did not want anything. Indeed, she felt that she had taken money from strangers for way too long. Perhaps her sister was right - she should get herself a real job.

"Can't you find someone else to do it?" she asked.

"I can," Roper said. "But I don't want to."

Nina grit her teeth. Her eyes travelled from Roper to Corky and back - both seemed eerily relaxed as if it did not matter if she wanted to do this. They probably knew that she would do it anyway.

Her hands were shaking as she reached for the pen. Corky let out an exaggerated laugh. The pen clattered to the floor and sounded like a rockfall.  
It made Corky laugh even harder. Tears were stinging in her eyes and she imagined how nice it would be if the floor opened and swallowed her whole.

"Corky," Roper said and his voice had suddenly lost all leisure. "How about you leave us alone?"

Corky's face scrunched up. It spoke a lot about Roper's hold on his minions that he did not argue despite his obvious displeasure.  
He got up and, as he passed her, bent down to pick up the pen, knocking her aside with his arse in the process.  
Nina pressed her eyes shut when he straightened up and put the pen back down on the table. She only opened them when the door closed behind him.

Roper had sat up in the meantime. She wrapped her arms around herself and let her eyes drop.

"Well?" Roper said. "Are you going to sign it?"

"Sure," she said under her breath.

Her hands were still shaking and her signature was slightly disjointed because of it, but it was undoubtedly on the piece of paper now. It practically screamed at her; she felt sick enough to consider vomiting over it and erasing it that way.

Roper pulled it out from beneath her shaking hand. "Very good," he said, as if she needed praise for writing down her name.

"If I do get caught," Nina said. "I'm going to throw you under the bus."

"Likewise," Roper said, but his voice was light again.  
Not, she supposed, because he would not throw her under the bus, but because he did not think he would ever get caught. Like all criminals did.  
"And don't mind Corky," he said. "He watches out for me."

"I'm no threat," she said. "I really try to make that obvious."

He smirked and patted her on the shoulder. Her skin prickled where he had touched her. "Trust me," he said. "It is obvious."

It did not make her feel much better about the criminal activities she was being dragged into, but at the very least, Roper's words gave her the courage to leave her room that afternoon. Nina tried to tell herself that, if she was being dragged into this, she at the very least had the right to use the pool.

Her heart rate did not seem to be of the same opinion. Her heart beat so violently in her throat that she had trouble drawing in enough breath.  
 _You can do this,_ she told herself while bare feet carried her down the grand staircase. _You have to do this_.

It was the first time Nina ventured outside since that beach trip the first morning. The sun burnt hot and the air smelled like pine and salt water.  
The only reason she made for the pool and no the open sea was Corky. She had not forgotten his words that first morning and she did not want anyone to think that she was working on an escape plan.

Against all reason, she hoped that no one would be at the pool. Nina did not like attracting attention and besides, she had taken a look at herself in the mirror before going outside. Her ribs were protruding and there was barely anything for her bikini top to cover - she definitely had not always looked like this, and yet she could not remember when she had last been better fed.

Nina did not have the luck she had prayed for, but she supposed it could have been worse. Daniel was splashing around in the shallow part of the pool, more paddling than swimming and creating as large fountains as possible for a six-year-old.  
In the shadows, a blonde, middle-aged woman was lying on a lounger, her face almost completely covered by large, round sunglasses. Was this the nagging Caroline who had borrowed her the clothes? Maybe she should say thank you, since Nina had practically ruined the pieces she had worn.

"Going for a swim?"

She flinched and let go of the knot holding her towel - with nothing to keep it up, it slid right to the floor and pooled around her feet.  
For once, it was not Corky who jumped out at her seemingly out of nowhere, but Sandy Langbourne.  
Nina quickly dipped down to pick up the towel, but her hands were shaking so hard that she could not manage to tie it around herself again.

"We didn't get to talk yet," he said, drawing closer. "And there you've been with us for almost a week."

"I didn't much feel like going outside," she said.

"Such a shame," he said.

He was now standing directly in front of her. Nina took a step backwards, but there was hardly anywhere to go - if she took another step, she would be directly in Caroline's line of sight.  
Langbourne brushed the hair out of her face and traced his fingertips along the side of her neck as he withdrew.

"I... I just wanted to go swimming," she said.

She prayed - even though she did not know who to pray to - that he would let her go, or that maybe Daniel would hear them and come to interrupt them.

"A brilliant idea," Langbourne said. "But the pool's so crowded... we could go to the beach instead."

Nina could not do this. She could not go to the beach with Sandy Langbourne; she could not go anywhere with this man.  
David, at least, had always been there to protect her if things went too far, but there was no such barrier now.

His hands were on her arm now and it made her skin crawl. "What do you say?"

 _No,_ she screamed at herself. _Just say no and go._

He hummed. The tip of his nose traced her earlobe and his hands had loosened her hold on the towel. It fell to the ground once again.  
"Or we could go upstairs..."  
Her stomach turned and her shoulders pulled up. Oh, this was bad. This was very, very bad.

"Sandy, is that you?"

He let go off her as if he had burnt himself. The woman by the pool had sat up and was craning her neck to see better.

Nina took her chance. Ignoring her lost towel, she ducked past Langbourne and ran as fast as she could. The cool air inside made goosebumps erupt all over her body, but she ignored that, too.  
She slipped on the stairs and fell. She cursed as she hit her knee, but scrambled to her feet again.

The door to her room was thrown shut more by mistake than by her own agency. It felt good nonetheless. She turned the key as often as was possible. It stuck at five and a half turns.

Then she just stood there, staring at the lock. Nina was not sure what she expected to happen, but she knew it was nothing good.

Would Langbourne follow her? Would he talk about this to Roper?  
Her stomach dropped. What if Roper had set Langbourne up to this? Maybe he had wanted her to... But then, she considered Roper the sort of man to just outright say what he wanted.  
No, surely Langbourne had thought this up himself; he probably did things like this all the time, which also explained why his wife was constantly upset with him.

Nina was shivering and padded over into the bathroom to change. It had been a stupid idea to go outside, and she should have known better.

The door handle rattled. She froze where she stood and her fingers curled tightly around the edge of the sink.

"Elena!"

Her breath left her in one giant sigh of relief. It was Roper. It was only Roper. Her fingers slowly uncurled. "I'm coming!" she called.

Roper was leaning beside the door when she opened it, his feet crossed and his fingers gently tapping against his upper arm.

"Yes?" she asked.

"There was blood on the staircase," he said. His eyes travelled down her legs. "You've scratched open your knee."

"I slipped," she said. "No big deal."

His eyes narrowed. Roper never gave much away, but she had the impression that nothing was lost on him and her distress was not, either.

"May I come in?" he asked.

Nina rubbed a hand across her other arm. She did not want him to come in; she had not locked the door five and a half times for nothing, but she did not see how she could deny him. She stepped aside and let him pass.  
He did not venture far. He stopped five steps in, though his eyes travelled further.

"Did you go swimming?" he asked.

Her bikini had been carelessly tossed onto the floor of the bathroom and was plainly seen for she had left the door open.  
"I was going to, but then..." Her throat tightened. "Then I didn't."

His eyebrows pulled together. Nina wished that she was good at lying, but was not - much too late, she figured that she could as well have slipped before reaching the pool and gone back because of it; Roper would have been none the wiser if she had told him so.

"Well, spit it out," he ordered.

She could not take his gaze; she felt like she might shrink beneath it. She hung her head and heard him click his tongue in disapproval.

"No big deal," she repeated. "Just your man Langbourne being a bit touchy-feely."

There, she thought to herself, that sounded harmless enough. Did not sound like she was being too bothered by it - Roper should not think that she was being hysterical about nothing. Nothing had happened after all, right? Right.

Roper's stance did not relax. Indeed, his frown deepened. "Sandy, you say?"

Nina swallowed hard. "Yes," she said. "But it was really-"

"Nothing?" he guessed. The word hit her in the face like a slap. "You're not a girl to be upset about nothing."

Her shoulders pulled up. Weirdly, he did not seem to think that it had been nothing, though she herself was not so sure. Yes, she had been uncomfortable, but maybe Nina was especially sensitive these days.  
She definitely did not want Roper to worry about it - and she certainly did not want him to go talk to Langbourne about it. She still had to live here, after all.

"Come with me," Roper said. Even if she had had the guts, she would not have dared to argue now. "I know just the thing for you."

* * *

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	6. License to Kill

**Thanks to everyone who read and most of all to fairtyle07 for reviewing! Hope y'all enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

 **License to Kill**

* * *

Roper led her out of the room and down the staircase, where one of his staffers was already cleaning away her blood on the staircase. Nina wanted to stop and apologize, but Roper had strut past without another look and she had to hurry to keep up with him.

The sun felt even hotter now, but as soon as they stepped out of the complex and onto the path leading down to the beach, a gentle breeze eased the heat.  
They reached the beach, but Roper did not stop there. Instead, he walked further, stomping through the sand and towards the cabins where his staff and bodyguards lived.

The man who had handled her kidnapping, Frisky, opened when Roper knocked. His hair was messy and his eyes dropped as if he had just gotten up.

"What?" he asked and, after a short hesitation, added, "Chief?"

"Your gun," Roper said.

"Huh?" Frisky made.

"Your gun," Roper repeated. "I need it."

Her stomach dropped. Roper waved at her, this time with said gun in hand. Against the demands of her body, she followed him yet again.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Just around the next corner," he said. "Not as many people around."

Nina let out a small laugh that rang a little too loudly in her ears. "I meant more... What for?"

He laughed as well and it was a much more joyful sound. "You're going to learn to shoot."

She stopped dead in her tracks.  
David had not been obsessed with guns, but she had had a boyfriend once who was - Nina had developed a deep disdain for them after he had shot into the wall just inches above her head.

She did not want to shoot. There had never been a time when she had wanted to shoot. Besides, what did he think she was going to do? Shoot Langbourne in the face if he came onto her again?  
Also, she would be terrible at it. She could barely throw a tissue into the bin without missing it, so Nina honestly doubted that she could shoot straight ahead. Or in any chosen direction, really.

Roper had marched forward, but noticed soon enough that she was not following. He spread out his arms. "Problem?" he called.

"I'm not shooting."

His arms dropped, but he was smirking again. "You are," he said. "Now quit fooling around."

She had neither the courage nor the energy to explain to Roper just why this was a terrible idea. In her mind, Nina could already see how she shot herself in the foot, or worse, hit him somehow. Corky would kill her if she hurt his boss - maybe he would drown her in the pool.  
At least then, Nina would get to take that swim she had been denied.

Around the corner Roper had pointed out, the beach morphed from sand into stones and the first trees were rising above them mere feet from the shore.

"Perfect!" he said. "Don't you think?"

"Sure," she said, but had no idea.

Before she knew any better, Roper had pushed the gun into her hand. She was shaking and her fingers curled tightly around the grip. Roper reached out and pushed her hand down.

"Safety first," he said with a wink. "You know how to check it's loaded?"

That she did. Once again, it was because of that one boyfriend - Nina had been constantly afraid that he might shoot something, if not her, and it had been her only assurance of safety to see if he had loaded the gun or not.  
This one was loaded, too, which was no surprise. She led the slide snap back and glanced at Roper again. This was the end of her knowledge.

"All right," he said. "Forefinger on the trigger - did I say to raise it? Looks fine, now you lift it up, use the other hand to steady... Can't you stop shaking?"

She did not think she could, but she tried her best. _Steady_ , she told herself. _Steady now._  
Roper grabbed her lightly by the shoulders and turned her towards the trees. That close to her neck, he could probably feel her heart pounding.

He reached forward and corrected her hold on the gun. With a slight tip of his shoe, she widened her stance. "Aim," he ordered. "Just pick one of the trees."  
She did. The trees were swimming in her sight, but she did choose one.  
"Take a deep breath," Roper said in her ear. "Hold it - and then just follow through."

She supposed that she had pulled the trigger. The shot rung in her ears and the recoil threw her arms up and pushed her back against Roper's chest.  
It took her a while before she could draw in another breath; once she did, she was gasping for air.

Nina could not see where the shot had gone. "Did I hit?"

"Well," Roper said, his voice laced with amusement. "You did hit something, but I'd wager it wasn't what you wanted."

That was no surprise, but her heart still sank.

"Until your aim approves," he said and sounded like he thought that might never happen. "Aim for the feet, then you'll probably hit them right in the chest."

She shook her head. "I don't want to shoot anyone in the chest."

"But you might have to," he said. "At least you didn't hit yourself in the face with the gun. That's what I did the first time."

Nina laughed. It broke free like a caged animal shaking off its chains. It rang in the air and was carried away by the breeze and she felt much lighter for it.

It took another hour until Nina could somewhat hit the target she had set herself, but her aim was undoubtedly improving. She also started feeling better about it; if she could handle this safely, then maybe shooting was not so bad.  
She would not shoot Langbourne in the face, though - a slight spark of hope suggested that he might back off without shooting if she had the weapon with her.

Still, Nina only dared go to the pool three days later when Langbourne was out with Roper and a few other men; they had said goodbye with a laugh and a careless _'it's business'_.  
She loved it and Daniel loved it, too. He had dashed past her on the stairs and called that he would go to the beach. "Dad never let's me swim in the sea!"  
She called after him to be careful and swore to herself that she would not rat him out.

While Langbourne himself had left, his wife had not. Their kids ran past her and after Danny, cackling and shouting as they went and Caroline Langbourne was calling after them just like she had called after Daniel.

"Not to worry," Caroline said when Nina appeared on pool side. "I can see them from here."

"Perfect," she said. "Don't need any accidents."

Silence settled between them. She stood, staring at Caroline's back and wondered if that was it - a part of her wanted to just turn, jump in the pool and pretend she had never spoken to Langbourne's wife; the other part screamed at her to make a connection to the only other woman around.

"Thanks for the clothes," Nina said. "I'm not sure I gave them back in a good shape."

Caroline shrugged. "Sandy hated them anyway."

"Did you hate them?" she asked. "Because if you didn't, then I'm really sorry about ruining the dress and I don't care what your man says."

She barely knew where she had found the courage to say it; it was maybe the fury still kindling inside her that made her want to tell Langbourne's wife that she should take better care of herself. Besides, they had the kids - did Caroline not want to keep them far away from a man such as Sandy Langbourne?

"Well," Caroline said. "You're welcome."

Nina placed her towel on one of the sunbeds and sat down by the pool, dangling her feet in the water. It weaved gently between her toes and she leant back to bath her face in the sunlight.

There was a gentle splash - Caroline had sat down next to her. "Do you know when you'll get to leave?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "Ready to be rid of me?"

Caroline smiled; it was the indulgent smile of a mother. "I barely know you," she said and shook her head. "No, I think you should leave while you still can."

Truthfully, Nina had never felt less inclined to leave than in this moment where the sun shone on her face and the water cooled her. Besides, Roper had just proven that he would let nothing happen to her - even if that meant putting a firearm in her hands. Her very own gun lay safely protected at the bottom of her closet.

"Why?"

Caroline scoffed. "Dicky Roper is not a good man..."

"The worst man in the world," she said. "That's what David always said. I've never quite gathered why."

The other woman bit her lip. "Once, they tested their weapons and destroyed a whole village. Men, women, children, all of them dead. Worse, some were not, not at once." Her eyebrows pulled together. "And Dicky, he laughed...because it was such a good deal."

Her stomach twisted. Worst of all, Nina could see it in her mind; it was not hard to do at all. She could see Roper laughing while the people burnt behind him - he could probably laugh in every situation he was put in.

"They sell these weapons... Everything they can get their hands on. Drugs, too, if they get them, and so on and so forth until there's more money than they can count. Most recently, they're selling in the Middle East... Can you imagine, dropping bombs into that catastrophe?"  
Caroline pushed her hair out of her face. "Honestly, I am already in too deep, but you can still go."

Caroline was wrong though. Nina could not leave, not now and probably not as long as David was still alive and free.  
What else was she supposed to than stay? Follow Daniel into the sea and swim until she drowned or found land?  
Besides, she thought - and this was maybe not her finest hour - this really was not much worse than what David had done. At least Roper kept up a personable facade while he was committing his atrocities.  
"They're shipping from Cairo in a few weeks," Caroline continued. "A deal with some Egyptians selling into Afghanistan...Honestly, I'd make sure you aren't coming along."

"Thanks for your advice," she said. "But I don't think Roper would take me along, anyway."

Nina swam until her fingers were prune and her lips were blue. Caroline collected the children under loud protests, but she dived and tuned their voices out.  
She tuned everything out.

By the time she dried herself off and went to the kitchen for a bowl of spaghetti, the tension had left her body - so what if Roper sold drugs and weapons? That was not her problem.  
Indeed, Nina slept better than she had in a long while; and she only turned the key twice.

She could feel the change the moment she woke up. The air was sizzling; it felt like the walls themselves were upset. She wanted to draw the blanket over her head and not come out.  
Nina forced herself anyway; when she chanced a look outside, she saw Corky pacing the patio and barking orders into his cellphone.

Her chest felt tight and she thought about coiling up as tightly as she could. They were not supposed to be back yet - Roper had told her they would be gone for at least three days. It had not even been one.

Someone hammered against her door. Feeling sick to her stomach, she hurried to answer it.  
It was Frisky. At the stern look on his face, Nina had the wild thought that she should have gotten the gun out first.

"Chief wants to see you," he said. "Right now."

"Something wrong?" she said. "Corky seems really uptight."

Frisky did not answer, but he did grunt. He made her lead the way and her skin prickled with him looming behind her.

Roper was not smiling. Not even smirking. His jaw was clenched and his fingers were curled around the backrest of his office chair so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Maybe we should roll up the carpet, chief," Frisky suggested.

Roper made a sound almost like a snarl. "I'm not shooting her in my office."

Her heart rate jumped.  
As best she could, Nina could not figure out why they would want to shoot her - in the office or anywhere. She had not even used the gun; where could she have gone wrong?

Frisky closed the door behind him and she stepped forward, her bare feet caressed by the carpet Roper had not wanted to roll up.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"We have... a leak," Roper said.

"A leak?"

His eyes narrowed at her. "When we came to our partners, everyone but the lawyer was already in handcuffs, the accounts frozen, all the money lost." He shook his head. "Now I don't know about you, but that's no accident."

"I agree," Nina said.

Roper cocked his head to the side. "So I imagine."

Her mouth dropped open. It had taken her longer than it should have - he thought that she was the leak he was looking for. As if she had had any chance to do such a thing. As if she had not done her utmost best to be complacent.

"Oh," she said. "You've got to be kidding me."

* * *

 **Leave me a review if you can spare the time! I'd make me very happy :)**


	7. I Can Do Better Than That

**Thanks to everyone who read and to fairytale07 for reviewing! I hope y'all enjoy the new chapter.**

* * *

 **I Can Do Better Than That**

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me." Nina shook her head, her hands pushed into her hips. "Really? Me?"

Roper's eyebrows rose - it was a just-barely-there-movement, but she saw it and she knew that she had for once taken him by surprise.

Nina was taking herself by surprise. Again, a part of her screamed to be silent, to not provoke him now when he was this close to shooting her, but she could not help herself.  
She was shaking, her heart was pounding, but where it had once been from fear, anger had now risen inside her.

"All this time," she said. "I've been doing my very best. I've been making myself small, I was friendly and I did everything you fucking told me to do and now I'm supposed to be the leak?"  
He did not respond, but she was not nearly done. Her fingernails dug deep into the palm of her hands.  
"When was I supposed to have done this?" Nina demanded. "And how? I don't know if you noticed, but I don't have a phone! I haven't talked to anyone aside from you and your goons, you made sure of that, but of course! I probably sent your contact info to your enemies via carrier pigeon."  
She shook her head. "Or maybe I've sent them a message in a bottle. Dropped it right from my window into the open sea and hoped for the very best."

Roper sat down behind his desk. "I hear you," he said. "But you see, _Elena-"_

"No, you see, _Richard_." His eyes narrowed and she inwardly applauded herself. Chief, they called him, or Roper or Dicky, but no one had ever called him Richard. Now she could see why. "This allegation is ridiculous and I am insulted."

He pursed his lips. His eyes did not meet hers, but were instead focused on the top of his desk and he started rearranging the papers on his desk.  
Nina gritted her teeth - her hands were still shaking and she could have ranted for another thirty minutes at least, but she kept herself from it. It was time for him to deliver his judgement - and if he still thought she should be shot then it was also time to get it over with; she was tired of this.

"Well?" Nina asked.

"I might have been... too quick," he said. He looked up and met her eyes. "But you have to admit... If it's not you..."

If it was not her, then it had to be someone else in his inner circle, or at least that was his line of thinking. "I've warned you about Hibic," she said. "Couldn't he have...?"

Roper's face scrunched up and she held up her hands in surrender.  
If he did not want her input, then she had no business saving his money for him. Still, she thought that an outsider was a good deal more likely than any of Roper's men ratting him out. She knew the way Corky, Langbourne or Frisky worshipped the ground Roper walked on; Nina found it hard to believe that they would do any such thing.

The one most likely to call the police on them was Caroline Langbourne, but she doubted that Roper would consider _that_ a realistic option.

"I don't like when you call me Richard," he said.

"I don't like when you call me Elena," she retorted. "It's never stopped _you_."

A smile tugged at his lips, though it did not come to full fruition. Her fingers finally uncurled and she found that there were half-moon shaped dents in her palm, glaring at her in a deep red. They twinged, but she did not mind.

"Can I go, then?" she asked. "Or is Frisky waiting outside with the gun cocked?"

Roper scoffed. "He better not," he said. "Send him to me if you see him."

Nina nodded. Her feet carried her from the soft carpet onto the cool tiled floor. Ten minutes ago, she had not though that she would get to do that again and yet here she was.  
When she reached the door, she looked over her shoulder again. "You never apologized."

Roper did not look up from his papers. "I'll buy you a fucking phone."

Not quite what she had wanted to hear, but she supposed that was good enough. Not like Richard Roper would apologize to anyone.

Frisky was not waiting for her outside the door; Nina was almost disappointed. Before she knew it, she had strayed from the path back to her room and was on her way to the kitchen. She could have skipped instead of walking; indeed, she took the staircase two steps at a time.

She ate three slices of French Toast and an apricot; she left already thinking about lunch.

Corky, still yelling into his phone, passed her on her way out. His eyebrows knotted together and Nina greeted him with the brightest smile she could manage. Clearly he had thought her blood would stain the beautiful carpet by now.

Next she ran into Daniel. Or better, he ran into her - she wondered how many hours they had to make him swim before he stopped running.

"Good morning!"

Dany scratched his head. "Everyone's really upset," he said. "I something wrong?"

That put a bit of a damper oner her mood.  
"Of course not," she told him as earnestly as she could. "Just a little something with your dad's business, but it's nothing for you to worry about."

The boy nodded dutifully, but Nina suspected that he had heard those same words many times before. There was a pang in her chest; every nerve in her body itched to hug this child as tight as she could.

Luckily, Daniel was used to sorrow and he took it like a champ. One moment he seemed saddened and thoughtful, then he perked up,a bright smile spreading on his face.

"Do you want to go swimming?"

Yes, she wanted to go swimming. Daniel took off at a run again and she called after him to be careful not to slip - she was already halfway to motherhood. He returned within moments and grabbed her arm to pull her outside.  
Vaguely thinking of Corky, she would have preferred the pool. Since he was accompanied by an adult, Daniel insisted on going to the beach, though.

"Roper doesn't let me otherwise," he said.

"Well then," Nina said. "If you insist."

She waved to Caroline on their way down - the Langbourne's were having breakfast on the patio by the pool and looked a lot happier than she would have expected.

Daniel was skipping ahead, shedding shirt and shoes while moving towards the water. She followed more slowly, picking up his belongings as she went.

The boy was wading into the water now. Nina worried slightly if he had put on sun-blocker, but it was just a small part of her mind.  
Overall, she just felt... light. Lighter than she could remember ever being. Daniel was laughing, the sun was shining, the sea was gurgling and Roper would definitely not murder her. Things were looking good.

She spread her sweatshirt on the ground and sat down on it, burying her feet in the warm sand.

"Jump!" she called as a wave rolled on. Dany jumped and came out with his head just over the water - she could hear him laughing over the crashing of the water.

"Well, what is that." Corky had obviously finished his phone call and was now strutting down the pathway. "I thought we'd agreed this is no place for you."

Nina pursed her lips and decided not to let him rain on her parade. "I'm watching Dany," she said. "I don't think the chief will mind."

Corky sneered, but he did not contradict her. She almost wished that he had - she wanted to test her newfound courage while it lasted.  
Daniel called for them to look and jumped high again, riding the tide of the wave.

"The kid's catching on," she said. "He knows there's something wrong, and he's what - six, for fuck's sake, he shouldn't have to deal with this."

"So?" Corky drawled.

"So, you got to keep your shit together when there's a kid in the house." She shook her head at him. "He's not stupid, and he deserves to be just a kid."

No emotion played on his face, but once again he did not argue. She already thought about bringing this issue to Roper himself - after all, should he not care the most about the well-being of his son?

"I'm surprised you're out here," Corky said. He sat down as well, huffing and puffing as he did. "Chief said he wanted a word with you."

"He had it," she said and glanced over at him. "I'm not the traitor, if that's what you think."

"Why, yes, that's what ol' Corky thinks," he said.

Daniel was shouting again, this time because he dived beneath the next passing wave. He came up all right and she looked back to Corky.

"Well, it's not me," she said. "Makes no sense, either way, I don't know the first thing about what you're trying to do."

His upper lip pulled back as he sneered again. Corky probably ran through the world with that expression permanently fixed on his face.  
When he did not answer her, Nina shrugged and turned back to Daniel, calling for him not swim out too far - she did not want to have an emergency at her hands.

"You're getting awfully cheeky," Corky said. "Don't let it get too far."

Nina hardly thought that sitting on the beach and telling him that she was not leaking secrets was taking it too far, but she just rolled her eyes and let him carry on.

"So you really don't know what this deal was about?"

She glanced over at him again. The wheels in her mind were turning: how to best handle this situation? If she did it right, he might actually tell her - one wrong word and he could shoot her instead. Best would probably have been to just let it pass and not inquire, but curiosity was burning inside her and she could not help herself.

"Well, I don't know anything about these things," Nina said carefully. "David needed arm candy, not an advisor."

"The chief doesn't need no advisor, either."

"I know," she said. Careful now. She glanced at him again - not too much now, and not too little. "He's got you, right? Whatever good that is."

"Mighty good," Corky said sharply.

She nodded, and her next glance showed his puffed-out chest. She hung her head to hide the smile that spread inadvertently on her face. Good to know she still had it.  
Nina figured there was only one man who would not respond to her kind of flattery - and Corky was no Richard Roper.

"If only," Corky said. "I knew who was the traitor, then."

"Roper doesn't want to hear it," Nina said. "But Hibic's been after him for months, I really wouldn't be surprised if he found a way..."

He shook his head and his face scrunched up the same way Roper's had. Clearly, he did not think it was David, either. If she was being entirely honest, she could not quite believe it herself. Hacking into Roper's computers would take some serious expertise and even then, she doubted Roper would store important information on electronic devices.

"It's just," Corky said. "That tons of heroin were supposed to be on their way across the Atlantic right now, and we need them to be there on time so the Egyptians will hand over their weapons, but-"  
He interrupted himself and his eyebrows knotted together. "You shouldn't know that."

Nina flinched. Without noticing, she had sat up and leant a little closer to Corky. Now, she shrunk back and rolled her eyes at him. "Either you're right and I'm the leak, then I already know this," she said. "Or I'm not and then there's no harm in telling me."

His eyebrows rose again and he almost seemed ready to continue his story. They were interrupted by a loud cry.

She had not known that she could jump up that fast. Daniel was crying, jumping in the water again, but this time more wobbly and insecure on his feet. When he reached the shore - almost at the same time as her - she saw why: he was jumping on one leg.

He collapsed against her when he reached her and Nina grabbed him under the arms. She could see why he was hopping now: his foot was bleeding, the sole split open by a clean, long cut.

"It hurts," the boy sobbed.

"Uh-oh," Corky made, standing safely outside the reach of the water. "Chief won't like that."

Dany paled even more and she turned him towards her. "Nonsense," she said, though her heart was pounding. "I know it hurts, but it's really not that bad. Look, you just put your put foot back in the water-" He squealed as she gently pushed his foot beneath the surface. "The salt will sanitise the wound and you'll be just fine."

Tears were running down the boy's face and Daniel reached up and wiped them away with the back of his hand. "How long?"

"Just a bit," she said. "And then we can go up and tell your dad how brave you were, huh?"  
The kid's eyes rose and his lower lip trembled. Nina looked over her shoulder at Corky, who had crossed his arms in front of his chest.  
"Isn't he brave, Corky?" she said.

Corky pulled a face. She quirked an eyebrow, quietly urging him to agree. He threw his hands in the air and stalked off towards the pathway, muttering about the boy being 'brave, very very brave'. She could have strangled him, but Daniel seemed to take it as agreement and had stopped shivering.

"Later," Daniel said. "I think I'd rather swim in the pool."

* * *

 **I know I've made you wait a bit too long after last week's cliffhanger, and I'm going to have to make you wait again - I'll be working at a kid's summer camp and will only be able to update in about two weeks.  
Hope y'all enjoy the last few weeks of summer! (If it's summer where you're at on this world ;) )**

 **(Oh, and if you cold leave me a review, that would make me very happy :)**


	8. Kind of Woman

**I'm back! Summer camp's been great and really stressful, so I've only now recovered enough to update ;)  
**

 **Thanks to everyone who read, fav'd and alerted and most of all to fairytale07 (I'm glad you enjoy the new Nina!) and "Guest" (Here _is_ more to read!) for reviewing!**

* * *

 **Kind of Woman**

* * *

Roper did indeed think that his son had been very brave, or at least he had said so. Daniel had beamed with joy at the praise. While Nina had slightly exaggerated the gravity in his presence, she had quickly assured Roper that it was just a minor cut - winking, he had told her that this happened to the kids all the time.

Roper and his inner circle had also obviously accepted that she was not the leak, because no one bothered her with it again.  
That did no mean that the whole business had blown over; indeed, Corky and Langbourne were growing steadily more anxious over the next few days.

It was unclear if their tons of heroin had actually started their way across the Atlantic even without the proper funding; and if they had, what would happen once they arrived.  
Corky never gave her that information, though. More than that, he seemed to go out of his to not cross her path, as if she was some siren that had forced him to reveal the information.

Daniel stuck to her like gum one had stepped into. At first, Nina had been bothered by it; but by now she sort of enjoyed it. As if by reflex, she called after him not to run or put on sun blocker - she had even ushered him to bed early the other day. He had protested and screamed and cried - and he had eventually given in. She suddenly understood why her mum had always been so exhausted.

"I want to go to Cairo, too," Dany proclaimed, about two weeks after the beach incident.

His father's lip curled. "I've told you once, I've told you a million times-"

"Blah-blah-blah," Daniel made. "Why can't Nina stay?"

She sat up and put down the fork that had been halfway on its way to her mouth. "Excuse me," she said. "I'm not staying?"

Arrival or not, Roper had scheduled an appointment with his business partners in Cairo. Frisky had flown ahead to take care of security and Roper had hired extra men to watch Caroline Langbourne and the children - Nina had just assumed that she would stay on the island as well. Roper had never said otherwise, and besides, what was she supposed to do in Cairo?

"You're coming," Roper said. "I'm supposed to protect you, right? Besides, I might need you to identify Hibic's men if they turn up."

Nina's eyebrows rose. Since when was seeing Hibic's men a worry? "A little warning might have been nice."

He scoffed. "I thought you didn't need to be told. How am I to guarantee your safety if you're miles away?"

"This house is plenty safe," she said.

Roper quirked an eyebrow and she gave up the fight. She did not mind a change of view, anyway. As nice as this island was, it did get somewhat small after a while.  
Instead, Nina picked up the fork again and chewed while Daniel continued complaining. He only stopped when Roper threatened to sent him back to his mum earlier than originally planned.

Within two days, Nina found herself witness to yet another of Roper's luxuries. Aside from the yacht, he also had a private jet - which was not very surprising, all things considered, but still caught her off guard. David had had a private jet as well, but he had never taken her anywhere.

Nina had been on commercial planes before, but found that a private jet was nothing like it. Roper offered her a leather seat across from him and a stewardess with overdone makeup handed her a glass of champagne - she lived in constant fear that she might spill it on herself.

Corky was bustling back and forth between Roper and his own seat, both of them on their laptops and with frowns on their faces.  
Nina sat back and watched the scene unfold. Roper's lips kept twitching and Corky folded and unfolded every piece of paper he had brought.  
A glance outside showed the glittering surface of the sea. A smile tugged at her lips; it looked so incredibly peaceful.

"Happy?"

Nina looked up and found that Roper had lowered his laptop. "Yeah," she said. "Thank you."

He grinned. "For what?"

"Everything, I suppose," she said. Even, a little bit, for kidnapping her.

The plane dipped slightly to the side and the shore came into view below. "Why have you taken me along?" she asked. "The real reason."

Roper closed his laptop with a snap. Corky, back on his way to the front had frozen mid-fold. "I gather you know," he said. "That a lot of business is done better with a beautiful woman on your arm."

Her eyebrows rose. Nina had not forgotten that Langbourne was going to be with them- and she had definitely not forgotten many an inappropriate touch that had occurred because David had thought business would go better that way.  
She had done it because she had been afraid of him - but she was not afraid of Roper, at least not in that way.

"I'm not a whore," she said.

"I'm aware." Roper raised an eyebrow himself. "I just think you're charming and I count on people noticing that I have Hibic's girl with me. Sends the right message, I would imagine."

Nina caught herself chewing on her lower lip. She did not want to do this - not for Roper, not for anyone. On the other hand, this was barely worth fighting about. She also enjoyed a good party.

"All right," she said. "But I won't be more than charming."

That was all right for Roper. She would not need to be more than charming, he assured her and showed her a Prada dress and jewellery as if that assured her in any way. Nina desperately wished that she could have bought these things herself.

Before long, they had landed and were navigating Cairo traffic, which was more than just a little adventurous. Nina was glued to her window, watching the palms and minarets pass and craned her neck to get a full view of the Citadel.  
All her doubts forgotten, she was suddenly excited. Maybe, if she was a little charming, she could convince Roper to go see the pyramids with her.

Entering the hotel made her doubt her luck, though. Security was as high as if Roper was not a wealthy arms dealer, but the President, and Nina could barely make two steps without running into a guard with a gun.

"Is this really necessary?" she asked when Frisky brought her luggage up. "You'd think World War Three was about to start."

Frisky huffed and lifted her suitcase onto the bed. "Just in case," he said.

She shook her head. "This thing has you really freaked out, huh? Doesn't stuff like that happen all the time?"

Judging by the look on his face, that very much was not the case. Nina let him leave and caught a very short glance of another armed man in front of her door.

She wondered who they were so afraid of, since they still did not think that this was Hibic's doing. Maybe she was wrong about that, too - but who else was out there wanting to hurt Roper?  
Nina supposed that law enforcement could have come after him at any time, but would he be that nervous about it? Should that not be business as usual?

Nina put the chain on the door before she dressed for the evening. Like Frisky had said - just in case.

As the sky darkened the air luckily cooled; she had worried that even a dress as light as the one Roper had bought might be too stuffy.

Roper came to get her himself. She first thought it was sweet, but then figured that he did not trust any of his armed goons to escort her.

"Do I have to be worried?" Nina asked.

"Of course not," he said.

"Can we go see the pyramids tomorrow?" He did not answer, but quirked an eyebrow. That probably meant no. "Anything I need to know about tonight?"

Roper shrugged. "Hamid's an arse, he has a girl that he beats but isn't faithful to, and he has loads of money that he wanted to invest in our business."

Hamid sounded like a very nice guy.  
"So his investment is now questionable because the goods haven't arrived?" she said. Roper groaned. "Do you still think they're coming?"

"Yes, they are," he bit out.

Nina thought that very much sounded like they might not arrive after all.

"You don't need to talk about that," Roper said. "Just-"

"Be charming," she finished. "Yeah, I know how to do it."

She had had practice after all.

Indeed, the party they arrived at was the kind that David would have thrown. It was just slightly to dark and slightly too warm, the music was slightly too loud and the women wore slightly too short dresses.

Nina tried to make out anyone she recognized and clutched a little tighter to Roper's arm.  
David rarely went to other people's parties and he did not usually use nice words about the Egyptians. That did not mean he would not sent one of his goons, though. Her heart beat hard in her throat. She could not take another kidnapping.

"She's so taut," Corky commented. "What'd you do to her, chief?"

Her lip curled back, but Roper was ahead of her. "Shut up, Corks."

Corky looked so outraged that laughter broke out of her. He looked even more sour after that, but Nina felt a lot better. So much better that she untangled herself from Roper and instead grabbed Corky's hand.  
"C'mon, _Corks_ ," she said. "Let's dance."

Corky was not a great dancer, but she could make do with it. Nina laughed at the slightly clumsy way the moved and for once, he laughed with her. The bass was drumming in her earand vibrating through her body. Corky spun her around and she came back to him, giggling and twirling.

"I didn't know you could have a good time," she said.

"'Course I can," he said. "Just gotta watch out for the chief."

"Seems like he could do that himself," she said, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the music. "What's he afraid of?"

She did not get an answer. Corky shrugged and instead spun her once more.

When the song finished, they found Roper in company. He was just clanking glasses with a shorter, dark-haired man. Roper's shoulders squared slightly when she reached him and his handed landed gently on her back the moment she was by his side.

"Elena," he said. "This is my good friend Freddie Hamid."

"Ah," Nina said and put on her brightest smile. "It's a pleasure. I have heard so much about you."

Hamid's eyes travelled up and down her body and she felt like she needed to take a shower at once. "My girl's right over there," Hamid said and pointed across the room to the bar. There were several women sitting there and she supposed any of them could have been his girlfriend.

Nina shared a glance with Roper. "Maybe I should go say hello."

"Yeah," Hamid said. "Maybe."

What a charmer. She nodded at Roper and made her way across the room. Since Nina truly had no idea who Hamid's girlfriend was - and also no intention to speak to her - she settled for having a drink; she picked the cocktail that seemed to have the lowest alcohol to liquid ratio.

"They'll arrive in the next two days."

Her ears suddenly picked up - not because of the content, but because of the way it was said: in a low, conspiratory whisper that should better have been kept far away from any prying ears.

"Does Roper know?"

\- "Doesn't matter, only matters we get there before him."

She turned around sharply to find who was speaking, but it was difficult to do in the dark. It was two men somewhere around her, but there were loads of them around her and all of them were speaking. Her throat was closing up now; she had to find who they were and she had to tell Roper about them...

"We meet your man tomorrow?"

\- "12 o'clock precisely."

 _But where_? Nina had to know where they were meeting or this was all worthless... She turned again on her spot like a dog chasing his tail.

"You sure we won't be followed?"

Did this man's movement match the words that were said? Her head was spinning and her eyes were burning.

"All-Muski's as crowded as this place," the second voice said. "I think we'll be fine."

Nina could have cried from relief. She had a place and a time; even if she did not have a face, she had enough to maybe save a life. Her eyes were stinging with tears.  
Maybe this was the way to end the madness that had dictated their lives for the past few weeks. Maybe this would be enough so she could actually leave that goddamned island.

"Hey." Roper's hands landed on her hips. "You having a good time?"

She should have told him, but the words got stuck in her throat. "I'm not a great help," she said instead.

"You're fine," Roper said. "The shipment's well on his way."

Her mouth opened. _Tell him_ , she thought, _tell him now._ But would it not be much better if she did have a face - and a name? Maybe if Nina took a stroll in the city tomorrow... would that not be better? Even more impressive?

"That's great," Nina said. "What a luck."

Roper laughed and took the glass out of her hand. "I almost got jealous of Corky," he said. "Can I have a dance?"

Of course he could have a dance. Somewhere between guilt of not telling him and the desperation to finally do something right, he could have had anything he wanted.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed and please do leave me a review if you can spare the time! Have yourself a lovely day :)**


	9. Without You

**Thanks to everyone who read, and especially to fairtyale07 for reviewing. I hope y'all enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

 **Without You**

* * *

"Good morning!"

Roper waved in response to her and gestured to his phone. Nina sat down at his table and tried her very best to ignore the fully-armed bodyguard that was circling the room. Langbourne and Corky had sat down on a table next to them, but she did not care to join _them_.  
She inched her chair closer to the table and grabbed the coffee can.

"Uh-huh," Roper said and pointed at his own cup. Nina refilled the cup and finally got her first glorious taste of coffee. "Yes," Roper said and took his own cup. "Sure."

Nina picked a croissant out of the breadbasket.  
She had slept rather restlessly last night - her dreams had spun around in a crowded street and she had been running, running, while the unknown voices from last night had called after her and she, in turn, had called for Roper.  
She had hoped that things would look less dire in the morning, but she had not forgotten: by midday, she would have to be at All Muski Street to find the perpetrators. She needed a name and a face before she would go to Roper.

Speaking of whom, Roper held out his phone for her. "It's Daniel," he said. "He wants to talk to you."

Her eyebrows rose, but she took the phone and answered. "Hey bug," she said. "How are you?"

Sniffling answered her. "I stepped on a sea-urchin."

Across from her, Roper rolled his eyes. Granted, these things happened to Daniel a lot, but Nina personally thought that the boy deserved more pity than that.  
"And then?" she asked.

"Caroline took me to the A&E," Daniel said. "They said it'll be fine."

"Well," Nina said. "I'm sorry I couldn't go with you. What about the pain?"

He was sniffling again. "It's pretty bad."

Roper pulled a face across the table. "He can handle it," he told Nina.

She could have punched him in the face.  
"Tell Caroline to give you some painkillers," she said to Daniel. "Your dad doesn't want you uncomfortable."

Roper threw his hands in the air as if in defeat, but he was smiling slightly. Daniel sounded a lot firmer when he said, "Okay. I will."

"You want to talk to him again?" I asked, both at Dany across the phone and Roper across the table.  
Neither of them seemed too keen to talk to each other again. Roper shook his hand and Daniel let out an exaggerated "Uhhhh..."

"Okay," Nina said. "Then have a good day, bug."

Roper scratched his head when she hang up.

"He can handle it?" she asked and handed him back the phone. "He's seven."

He waved her comment away. "You're getting along well with him."

 _He's seven_ , she almost repeated again, _and lonely_. She liked Daniel well enough, but Nina was sure that he only clung to her because he actually missed his mum.  
She very well understood. Indeed, she wished that she had a home to go back to - but her home and her mother were entirely occupied by her sister, so Nina had to take what she could get elsewhere.

"In contrast to you," she said. "I like being nice to him."

She hoped that he would take offense, but much like usual his face betrayed nothing. It made her insides coil in anger.

Her father had always said that all he wanted as a parent was for his kids to have it better than him. Her sister had taken that as a cue to work hard in school - Nina's way had had less to do with a good work ethic.  
Either way, she felt that she now had an inkling of what he had meant. She wanted Henry to be a happier child and more importantly a happier adult than she was.

Roper huffed. "He's soft."

" _He's seven_ ," Nina said.

He rolled his eyes and waved over a hotel boy who carried a basket with newspapers. "I thought," he said as he fished a Washington Post out of the basket. "That we could actually go to the Pyramids if you wanted to."

Nina had truly wanted to, but she also recognized a good opportunity when she saw one. "Actually," she said. "I've lost all interest. I'd rather go to the market. And I can very well do that on my own."

Roper's lips twitched and he shook his head behind his unfolded newspaper. She thought she might have heard him mutter something about 'women', but she would gladly take that if it meant she would be able to go.

Nina _was_ able to go, but she had to take a bodyguard. Frisky pulled a face and, grumbling, complained the entire way through the city. She was on the edge of her seat the whole time and watched the time tick by on a wrist watch that Roper had gifted her. Midday approached mercilessly and her heart was hammering.  
What if she could not find them? What if she was too late? And how was she going to shed her satellite?

The market stretched out over long streets and corners. People were edging along in slow masses and the taxi driver refused to go any further.  
A stand near them sold colourful glass lamps; shawls and drapes were hanging from a stand right behind them.

Frisky's face lit up when the smell of food reached them. "That way," he said, pointing to the side street that probably was the food mile.

"I'm not hungry," Nina said.

His face dropped back into his usual frown. "But I am," he said.

"Fine," she said and shrugged. "Then you go have something to eat and I look around here and we meet again in half an hour."

Frisky scratched his head. "The chief's going to kill me."

"The chief doesn't need to know."

He was still uncertain. Frisky glanced over his shoulder as if he expected Roper to pop up right behind him. She would not have been surprised if he did.

"C'mon," Nina urged. "I can handle myself, I promise. And you can get some time for yourself. Has he even let you sleep?"

She had him. He puffed himself up a bit and she could see the defiant clenching of his jaw. "I have deserved it," he said.

"Right," she said. "And I won't run away, honest. I'll just be here, looking at the candles and the shawls..."

Frisky nodded, this time a lot surer than before. "Okay," he said. "But only half an hour."

That was all she needed. Nina agreed with the brightest smile she could muster up and that seemed to build him up even further. Frisky strut off with wide steps and his shoulders squared.

Nina did not have the time to enjoy her triumph, though. Now that Frisky was gone, the noise of the crowd rang painfully in her ears and she realized just how desperate the task was that she had set herself. They could be anywhere on this street and she did not even have an idea of what they looked like.

She followed the crowd and indeed did not look at any shawls or candles. Her breathing became shallow - this was the first time that she was alone in public; probably in years.

The smell of cinnamon and cumin settled in her nose and she looked around for any dark corners that might have been a hiding spot. But would they hide in such a spot? They had not hidden at the party.

Then she saw him. She first spotted him because his skin was paler than that of the people around him - Nina almost dropped dead right then and there.  
David strut across the street just two or three rows of people away from her.

She could not go after him. She had to go after him. Now that she saw him here, there was no doubt in her mind that it was David who was behind all of this.  
He had almost disappeared from sight before she willed herself to walk. Nina held her breath, afraid that even drawing in air would catch his attention. She tried to keep as far away from him as possible, but in the crowded street she was always in danger of losing him.

David crossed into a side street and she followed, edging along the wall of one of the adjacent buildings and trying to stay in the shadows,  
He turned another corner and she luckily noticed the absence of footsteps before she followed. He had stopped and was now greeting someone else - probably one of the men from last night. Nina had always thought that recognizing voices was a lot easier than this, but at this moment, she was not sure at all.

"Brought you the device," David said and there was some rustling.

"This'll work?" the other voice asked.

She pressed herself back against the wall. Questioning David was not a good idea and Nina definitely felt sick now.

"Don't ask dumb questions," David ordered.

"Fine," the other man grumbled. "Just don't shoot me if the ship sails off and this don't do nothing."

"This," David said, now definitely angered. "Is made by people who design airplane blackboxes. It will work."

Oh, they were going to track the goods. That made - did that make sense? That only served a purpose if David was going to either steal the goods or give the goods to the police... both of these things seemed almost suicidal.

"I want it on there tonight," David continued. "Ship leaves in the early hours of the morning, if I don't have a signal-"

"Fine," the other man said, raising his voice this time. "I got it."

There was another bit of rustling. Nina's breath caught again and then her mind caught up to the situation. They were going to come through here again; David was going to catch her standing there, listening to his plans and if he did, that would almost definitely be the last breath she ever drew.

Footsteps approached again and she saw a shadow in the edge of her eye - and she ran.  
Too late. Shouts echoed from behind her and she chanced a look over her shoulder. David and his man were running after her, and his face twisted.

He shouted again; Nina thought she might have head her name. She tried to speed up, aiming for every bit of strength she had in her legs - which was not a lot. A report sounded through the alley and she stumbled. Was he shooting at her?  
Nina tried to get to the other side of the street - did going back and forth not making it harder to hit? - but was interrupted by yet another shot.

Nina grabbed a rotten tomato from the street and hurled it backwards, blindly, towards her attackers. It seemed to hit. She heard one of them groan and took off again.

Emerging back on the market street was like being taken by a tidal wave. Suddenly, there were people everywhere and she could not make out the shouting behind her anymore.  
She pushed past a mother with a toddler on her arm and jumped over an unidentifiable bundle on the floor before her. Nina was not sure if David could still see her, but her saving grace came in the form of Japanese tourist group. She pushed between them; ducked so she would not be photographed and came out on the other side - Nina did not think that anyone could follow her on that path.

Fingers wrapped around her upper arm. The scream was barely out of her throat before another hand was slapped across her mouth.

"Jesus," Frisky said. "You sure are a screamer."

A sigh of relief left her when he let her go. "You scared me," she said. "I was - I mean, I was just-"

His eyebrows were drawn tightly together. "I've seen Hibic," he said. "So don't even try it."

"Good," Nina said. "Because we have to be quick-"

"Right," Frisky said. The hand that was not on her upper arm now grabbed the back of her neck and she yelped in pain as his fingers dug into her skin. "You can tell that to the chief."

Her eyes widened and she tried to twist out of his grip. "You got it wrong," Nina told him. "I haven't been - I'm not trying to screw you guys over, I haven't even talked to Hibic-"

It was no use. Frisky was on his way, pulling her mercilessly with him. She struggled and babbled and tried to convince him that she did indeed not conspire with Hibic; rather the opposite. The streets were still crowded, but no one seemed to care that she was struggling and shouting.

Her heart was pounding violently - how was she going to explain this to Roper? If Frisky told him his version of the story, that would not look good at all; indeed, it would look utterly damning. Nina had no way to prove her own story; if Roper did not believe her, he would probably shoot her on the spot.  
Could it be that she had just escaped a murder only to be dead minutes later? Good Lord, she did not want to die.

* * *

 **Leave me a review, please, it'd make me very happy :)**

 **And to guest "Anni" who reviewed the other day: I haven't approved your review, because you clearly confused me with someone else and I didn't want to take credit for someone else's work. I'd be honoured if you DID check out my work, though ;)**


	10. Deaf Ears

**Thanks to everyone who read and most of all to fairytale07 for reviewing! Hope y'all enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

 **Deaf Ears**

* * *

Richard Roper was not amused. Indeed, he was so far from amused that he would have made clowns cry.

Frisky stood by the door of the hotel room with his gun already drawn. Nina herself had shrunk into an armchair, watching Roper pace up and down in front of her with wide eyes.  
She had tried to speak up as soon as they had entered the hotel, but Frisky had knocked the handle of his gun against her head and she had not dared open her mouth again.

The hotel room had a beautiful beige and ruby carpet. Her stomach turned at the thought of that carpet being stained with her blood. Roper's jaw was clenched tight and whenever his gaze brushed her, she pressed herself further back into her chair - his eyes held a cold fury.  
This was bad. Nina had thought she had been close to death earlier, when David had tried to shoot her in the street, but this looked way worse - and she would have preferred to be shot in the street than to await her execution.

"I can't believe," Roper said slowly. "That I let you near my son."

Her mouth dropped open. They were the first words to leave his mouth and they hit her worse than Frisky's jab with the gun. She had not done anything to betray Roper's trust, and even if she had, she would never have done anything to hurt Daniel.

"I can't believe that you don't trust me," she shot back.

"You have-"

"We've been through this!" Nina interrupted. "We have! I told you I was doing anything in my power to do this right and that's exactly what I did. Yes! I was alone at the market and yes, I did see David there, but I haven't spoken to him!"

Roper's face twisted and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. "How am I supposed to believe that?"

She should have told him yesterday night. Nina knew she should have - it had been stupid, believing that she could play the hero and impress him by saving the day.  
She could not change it anymore, though. All she could do was be honest now.

"Last night," she said. "I heard a couple of men plotting against you. They wanted to meet again today, and I... I don't know, I just figured I'd bring you the whole story."

"Likely story," Frisky grunted from behind her.  
Both her and Roper turned to glare at him and Frisky rolled his eyes and knocked his gun against the door frame.

She inched forward on her chair and Roper's gaze returned to her. "I swear it," she said. "And I can prove it! Tonight, one of David's goons is going to sneak on the ship with your goods - I know it's arrived, no need to deny it - and then he'll put a tracker on it, something like a blackbox. I don't know what they are going to do with it, but I know that they'll be there. You just go there and see."

She saw the muscles in Roper's jaw moving and Nina squared her shoulders. Maybe her puppy dog eyes would have been better, but she could not bring herself to do it. She felt that she was better than that.

"Hamid guards those docks," Roper said.

Nina shrugged. "I don't know about any of that. You just go and see for yourself."

"I WILL DO NO SUCH THING!"

She flinched and hit her head against the backrest. Tears shot into her eyes and she was not sure if they were from pain or fright. Nina ducked her head and waited for the blow that was sure to follow.  
He had his hand raised, too, but he caught himself - instead, Roper turned his back on her and took a few, very forceful steps towards the window.

"You'll stay with us," he said. "Until my goods have safely reached their destination. And if they don't, you're going to land on the bottom of the sea with them."

"Then I'm dead," she said. "I promise you, if you only go-"

"I won't," he said.

Roper strut past her without sparing her another glance. He gave some orders to Frisky that she did not understand - her thoughts rang too loudly in her ears.  
She was dead. More assuredly than she knew anything, she knew that those good would never reach their destination, wherever they were supposed to go.  
She was dead. She knew it, and Roper knew it, too.

Strangely, Nina, who was usually such an easy crier, did not have any tears now. What was the point? She was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Nina allowed Frisky to lead her away, with her head hung and no words leaving her lips. She thought that they might have passed some other patrons and did not want to know what they thought of her. Did they care that Frisky's hand was wrapped around her upper arm just a little too tightly?

Frisky stopped abruptly down the hall and knocked three times, harshly, against a door. Corky opened it, his hair tousled and his jaw set.

"What?" he demanded.

"You're supposed to watch her," Frisky said.

Corky's lip pulled back in a sneer. "I ain't taking in no traitor."

Frisky shrugged, much like he did not care about it. "Chief's orders," he said.

No one could argue with that, not even Corky. He groaned and stepped aside. Frisky let go of her arm and instead pushed her between the shoulder blades.  
She stumbled and hit her elbow on the door frame. The pain shot through her arm and up into her shoulder. Nina cursed and rubbed her arm.  
Corky did not pay her any attention. He slammed the door shut, strut back into the room and threw himself back down on the bed.

Nina straightened up and followed further into the room. There was a chair by the desk that she pulled out and sat down on. Her knees were shaking even when she did not use her legs.

"Knew you weren't smart," Corky said.

Nina closed her eyes. She was shivering - he might have turned up the air conditioning a little bit too much. "I'm definitely not smart," she said.

Indeed, she should have been honest up front and not tried to be anything more than she was... she was not a hero. She should have known to keep herself away from trouble; had she not always done this before?

"New tones." Corky had sat up now, his eyebrows knotted together. "Regret getting caught?"

"No," she said. "Listen, Corky, I told him the truth. Hibic's trying to screw him over, maybe Hamid's even in on it and I know when to catch him. Roper just doesn't want to believe it."  
Nina shook her head. "Irony is, when he finds out I'm right, he's going to kill me for it."

Corky watched her closely. "You know when to catch him?"

Nina looked back at him and narrowed her eyes. Something stirred inside her - was there still a chance for her? If anyone could convince Roper for her, it was Corky.  
"I do," she said. "Tonight, they'll be at the docks, and they'll put a tracker on your goods. Not David, but one of his henchmen and they'll do it right after midnight, so they're in time before the ship sails."

He was thoughtful, she could see it. Could it be that he actually believed her? Corky, of all people? Not that she could have been picky right now.

"I know this looks bad," she continued. "I know, okay, I get it, but I swear-"

Corky held up his hand and she fell silent immediately. "If he's made up his mind, then there's nothing I can do."

"Then you go to the docks!" she pleaded.

He groaned. "You know I can't."

She sagged. Of course he could not do it. Roper's hold on his team was more firm than the grip of a boa constrictor.

Corky got up and strolled towards the window. Maybe he had balcony that she could jump off of before anyone got around to shooting her.  
Her gaze travelled down to where her fingers had gripped the edge of the desk. This was not fair. She had been trying to do everything right. For years now, she had tried to make it right for everyone around her, and what had it got her? Humiliation, kidnapping, pain and now - this.  
And David, David who could not even bother to come after her, but who would bother to shoot her - David, who was the cause of this whole mess. He would get away unscathed, and she would be dead because of it. It was not fair.

"If you don't want to go to Roper," Nina said. "And don't want to go to the ship, then at least let me go there. Least I deserve is to shoot the bastard dead before I go."

Corky sighed and pushed the curtain aside to take a look outside. "You know I can't-"

"Then come along!", she interrupted. "C'mon, this isn't only about me. If we don't stop them, who knows what they're going to do - probably handing you over to - what? The FBI? The Secret Service? Who knows what sort Egyptian law enforcement you might be handed over to-"

He pulled the curtain back shut with a snap. "The chief won't be pleased if it turns out you're right..."

She inched forward on her chair. "No, he won't," she said. "But, Corky, we can still stop it. We just need to go there, tonight, and find the guy before it's too late."

Corky turned back to her. Their eyes met, and this time, she tried her best to look at him pleadingly. This was her chance - her only chance, her last chance.  
If she only got out there tonight, Nina would either be able to prove to Roper that she was innocent or she would at least go down in a blaze of glory; it was more than she had ever hoped for in her miserable little life.

"Fine," Corky said. "We'll go out. But I'm sure I'll regret it."

Frisky showed up again as night began to fall to pick her up, and Corky refused. _You've been working hard_ , he told Frisky. _You deserve a break. I'll keep watch._  
It was very much unlike Corky, and Frisky should have know - Roper would be very disappointed with him when he found out later. It was also the second time that day that he fell for that sort of thing.  
As it was, she breathed a sigh of relief when Frisky agreed and left with a whistle on his lips.

Corky organized a bit of food and warm jackets, grumbling all the while. Nina did not complain about it - she did not want him to change his mind. Besides, she was not in the best mood herself. The longer they waited, the more sure she was that this was a terrible idea.  
She felt queasy and her heart was beating fast; every few minutes, she had to wipe her sweaty palms on her jeans. Nina had been close to death twice already in this day alone, what if she got shot after all?

Corky huffed and pulled a case from beneath his bed. She pushed herself up and padded over to see what it was - he threw it heavily down on the sheets.

"Pick one," Corky said.

He did not only have a gun. He had several of them, large and small ones, certainly all with different names and calibres, but she understood nothing about that. Nina only knew how to shoot straight ahead.

"Give me one," she said.

Corky groaned, but picked one up and pressed it into her hand. It was a lot heavier than she had expected and she almost dropped it. Nina gently shook her head, but checked to see if the gun was loaded - the magazine was full. Her palms were even sweatier now.

A glance to the watch revealed that it was almost midnight. "We should go," Nina said. "Or we might miss them."

Safely secured, she placed the weapon in an inner pocket of her jacket. It felt even heavier in there.

Corky guided her through the hotel via long hallways and staff staircases. How he knew his way around, she did not know, but he guided her through a washing room and a kitchen before he opened a metal door in the basement and they stepped into the hotel's garage.

"Left!" he ordered sharply. "We're evading the cameras."

With Corky's hissed directions in her ear, they made their way through the garage, turning sharply in the middle of pathways, stopping here and there when a camera swept past them until finally, they reached the car that Roper had rented. It was beautiful, shiny black Jaguar. If Roper did not kill them for sneaking out, he would certainly kill them for stealing this car.

"Last chance," Corky said. "Are you really sure?"

Her eyes drifted from the handle to him and their gaze met across the car. "Are you?" she asked.

He pulled a face. "Fair enough," he said and pulled open the car door. "No more chances, then. Let's go."

* * *

 **Leave me a review, please, it'd make me very happy :)**

 **Also, I don't know if you can gather, but we're nearing the end - there's only two chapters left after this. Thought I'd give you a little heads up.**


	11. Chip On My Shoulder

**Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter. Sadly, I didn't get any reviews, but maybe you'll enjoy this chapter more :)**

* * *

 **Chip On My Shoulder**

* * *

By the time they reached the harbour, Nina could barely draw in enough breath to remain lucid. The gun was still heavy in her pocket and it felt hot enough to burn through the fabric.  
Neither had said a word during the entire ride, but Corky had for some reason put on a radio station that only played 70's rock music. Ironically, they blasted Bohemian Rhapsody when he pulled into areal. She spotted a few heavily armed soldiers patrolling; none of them bothered to stop them or ask for identification. She wondered if they were government-sent or were in the service of Roper's friend Hamid.

 _Just gotta get out,_ Freddie Mercury cried from the radio, _just gotta get right out of here..._  
Nina hoped she could get out. She also hoped that she would not have to call her mother from prison to tell her that she had killed a man.

Cargo ships all looked the same to her - Nina would have never found her way if not for Corky. He turned the lights off a few metres after the first ship. On the far end, cranes were lifting containers in the bright shine of their own flood lights.  
Corky parked the car close to the edge of the dock, in the shadow of a large freighter.

 _Nothing really matters,_ the radio sung. _Anyone can see._

Corky shut it off with a groan. "Fucking depressing," he said.

"I'll say."

It was surprisingly loud outside - motors were roaring, harbour workers were shouting at each other and the water was gurgling beneath their feet.

Corky was straightening his jacket. She put a finger to her mouth and shushed him before he could say something. This was not the time and place for a chat - who knew if David's man was around here somewhere and would overhear them.

Nina gestured for him to lead the way. Two ships down, Corky made a turn for the right and lead her along the flank of the freighter. Indeed, there already was a ramp let down.  
Corky's lip pulled back in a sneer, which she could only see because she had got her phone out and was lighting their way. The last thing she wanted was to take a swim in Cairo's harbour.

It was a steep climb and she almost lost her balance halfway up. Corky cursed behind her and she found him going up the ramp on all fourths when she reached the top and turned around. She held out a hand and helped him upwards.

They were already standing amid the containers. Nina's heart sank. 'Find the tracker', she had said as if it was an easy thing. She should have known to expect this, but the sheer number of containers crushed her - this seemed like Sisyphus's work.

"Fuck," she said.

"I'll say," Corky said. "Any ideas?"

She swallowed hard. Her mouth was dry as if she had wandered through the desert for forty years. "Well, he'd obviously hide it, so I'd go towards the middle... Are these all yours?"

"'Course not," Corky said. "I'll give you a shout when I see one of our numbers."

Nina rolled her eyes at that. If they had to search the whole ship, they would not be done until it had already sailed halfway to its destination.

They made their way through the rows between the containers. Wind was whipping against them and making her eyes tear up and her nose run. Soon she was cooled to the bone despite the warm jacket that she had brought. Every now and then, she pointed to a number on one of the containers, but Corky merely shook his head.

After about half an hour of going back and forth through the rows, they decided to split up. Until then, they had not even found a trace of any other person on the freighter and they did not have any time left to waste.

"You see anything in the 400s," Corky told her. "You call me."

Nina agreed, and traipsed on by herself, the way still lightened by the meagre shine of her phone. She did not find any 400s within the next few minutes, only numbers around a 1200.  
Alone, she now thought to hear footsteps behind her. Whenever she turned to check, her heart almost jumping out of her chest, there was no one following her. The skin at the back of her neck was still prickling.

The containers now had numbers in the 2000s. She was definitely going in the wrong direction. Nina turned right and into an aisle that weirdly counted from a 100 backwards. This ship would be a pain in the arse to unload.

Then, suddenly, Nina turned into another aisle and was suddenly standing in front of number four hundred and twenty eight. Her stomach lurched. This was it - the tracker had to be around here somewhere, or, if the man had not been there yet, they would be able to ambush him here.

She lifted her phone up to dial Corky's number, but at the first press on the screen, it flared up and died on her. Nina was suddenly plunged into darkness.

"Fuck." She reached her hand out to find the next container and give herself some orientation. If she went to get Corky now, Nina would never find her way back here - and if she called for him, she would give them away.

Nina put her phone away and instead gripped her gun inside the jacket pocket. Could she do this on her own? Did she have a choice?

Slowly, her eyes were adjusting to the darkness around her. She inched herself forward with one hand tracing over the rough edges of the containers on her side. All of them looked properly closed - would David's man open one or would he place his machine outside?

She turned into another aisle that was better lit and found numbers 450 and 431. Still, none of those boxes looked like they had been tempered with.  
Nina was struck by the thought that they might have blown it off. Maybe they had figured that she had seen them and thought it too risky. Her stomach turned. If that was true, she was actually dead. She could have just stayed at home. The wild thought struck her that she could make a run for it now. Leave Corky behind and get herself to safety while she still could.

If the man was indeed still on this ship though, she would leave Corky alone to his fate. Despite everything, she could not do this. He had driven her out here, had smuggled her out of the hotel, had risked all of it just to save her life. He deserved better than Nina abandoning him.

There it was. Nina's heart almost stopped when she spotted it. One of the containers was starkly open. Her fingers curled more tightly around the handle of her gun.  
Nina took a step towards it, one more, and a third - she could see inside now. There were wooden boxes stapled inside. One of them was open, styrofoam was spilled all over the floor, but there was no one to be seen. With the gun at the ready, she took careful step inside; no one was hiding in there, either.

The box was heavy; so heavy that Nina had to carry it centimetres over the floor as she heaved it outside for a better look. It was filled with layer and layers of fine white powder in small plastic bags. She skimmed through it with the gun - there was nothing else inside.

Nina cursed again and let herself drop back until she sat against the wall of the container. David's man had to have been here; there was no other explanation. He clearly had not placed the tracker, though. Was he trying to throw them off? Had something held him up?

She shook her head. She had to find Corky now; this running around in the dark was doing nothing and she was tired of having to watch her own back. Every few seconds, she had turn her head to make sure she was not-

BANG.

A loud shot rung in her ears and Nina flinched so hard she hit her elbow on the wall behind her. The pain that shot through her was nothing to the cry that followed the shot.  
Uncaring of her own pain, Nina sprung to her feet. Even warped like this, the voice undoubtedly belonged to Corky.

She ran. Nina ran as fast she could, skirting around corners and almost sliding through the rows. First, she could only hear the cries; the closer she got, the more she could hear the sharp intakes of breath and pained sobs.  
Nina was no medical expert, but that did not sound good at all.

She almost ran past him. Corky lay in a heap, propped up against a rusty container, his hand pressed to his shoulder. Even in the dim light, she could see it glistening.

"Hey," she dropped on her knees next to him. "Hey... You're gonna be fine, right, it'll be all right, okay - fuck."  
She had touched his shoulder. Corky had winced in pain and her fingers were now covered in blood.  
"That means nothing," she said, to convince both him and herself. "They'll patch you up no problem."

He shook his head very slowly. "Get... out."

It was too late. Her mouth opened to respond, to say that she would not leave him here, when she heard the click of a gun behind her.  
Nina froze. The gun was back in her pocket and therefore useless. Her hands were shaking as she pulled them back from Corky, whose face had lost even more colour.

"Turn around," David ordered.

She swallowed hard. Maybe she should have known that he would be here. As slowly as she could, Nina stood up and turned around. David was smiling; an ugly expression on his bronzed face. Nina felt dirty just looking at him. His man stood behind him and lighted the scene with his flashlight.

"Your gun," David said and, as he spoke, pointed his own weapon at Corky. "I don't think he can take a second shot."

As slowly as she had turned around, Nina reached into her pocket and pulled out the gun. David plucked it out of her hand the moment she extended it towards him.

"Thanks, _baby_ ," he said. "I knew I could rely on you."

"Fuck you," Nina said.  
She had not realized how much she had longed to say it until it left her lips. He had his gun trained on her again, but she still felt liberated.

David pulled a face. "Not today," he said.

"Not ever," she said. "Shoot me now or shoot me later, but you don't get to touch me again."

Corky groaned at her feet. Both her and David's head turned to look at him. "He's so close to dying," David said conversationally.

She straightened her shoulders. "He's Roper's right-hand man," she said. "I'd be careful about what I do with him."

David let out a short bout of laughter. "After tonight, Richard Roper won't matter anymore."  
He gestured for his henchman, who was still dutifully holding the flashlight. "Michael over there is going to place the tracker now and then we'll send this ship on its merry way... finding this load is all the MI6 needs. We have an excellent deal, if you care to know. Maybe we'll just leave this unfortunate corpse on here."

Corky groaned again and tried to sit up, but it was futile; the moment he straightened, he sank down again, clutching at his chest. Blood was still flowing from the wound; it pooled on the floor now.  
Meanwhile, David's goon had placed the flashlight on some metal box and was jogging back to where Nina had come from; no doubt to place the tracker in the open container she had found earlier.

Her throat was tight and her heart beating violently. If Nina did not get them both out of here within the next few minutes, Corky would surely die - and it would be her fault. Never mind what David planned to do to her afterwards; she could not think about that now.

"Someone will find him if you leave him here," she said. "There's a crew on this ship. And if they find him, they might as well find your machine."

David scoffed. He sauntered towards here and it cost Nina all her strength to square her shoulders. "Nice try," he said and his finger ghosted over her cheek.  
She shuddered in disgust and he took another step until he was almost pressed up against her. Before she knew it, Nina had gathered all her courage and spit him in the face.

He recoiled, cursing and she quickly jumped back as well. "You bitch," he hissed. His hand drew back and as if by a wonder, she managed to duck beneath the hit.  
She was out of luck, though; he grabbed her hair instead, and drew her back towards him. She yelped and tried to pull away, but only succeeded in hurting herself more.

"Oh, you'll pay," David said into her ear. "You'll pay for that."

He tossed her from him and she stumbled and fell on Corky. Corky squeaked and she tried to lift herself up at once, despite her knees being scratched open and her palms pushing into the blood. There was barely any strength left in him, but his fingers wrapped around her wrist.

"My pocket," he whispered. He probably could not have spoken louder if he had wanted to. "Just... shoot."

Nina's breath caught. She pretended to hoist herself up and in the process, pulled Corky's gun out. She could not believe her luck; how could it be that David had not checked for weapons before she had arrived? Her eyes met with Corky's for a short moment.

David was already behind her again. His hand reached for her hair again, but she was prepared now. As he pulled her up, she rammed her elbow back as hard as she could. She hit him in the groin he staggered back and she turned and kicked him in the stomach; it was not hard, but enough to send him to the ground.

And then she had the gun pointed at him.

Nina was eerily calm now. She knew she should not be, but she was. David's eyes had widened almost comically and he crawled back on the floor, his eyes trained on the weapon. Her hand was steady despite his movement, steadier than it had ever been before.  
Then she pulled the trigger.

* * *

 **Leave me a review, pretty please :)  
Also, fair warning: next week, I'll post the last chapter - I can't believe I'm almost done already.**


	12. Die Another Day

**Dear Lord, I've put off posting this chapter for so long and I'm not even sure why... be that as it may, here's the very last chapter! I hope y'all enjoy the end of Nina's journey.**

* * *

 **Die Another Day**

* * *

Corky was leaning heavily on Nina. Every now and again, he would push himself off with one foot, but it was hardly enough. Until now, Nina had not known that she could carry him; she did now.  
She could not exactly see where they were going. The flashlight had to be left behind; the gun had seemed more important to her, and she could not carry both. With David's man still roaming the ship, her choice had been clear.

Nina had not checked to see if David was properly dead. He had sagged and not moved again and she had grabbed Corky and left as fast as she could.  
The shot, meanwhile, was still ringing in her ear as if on a constant loop. All she knew was too get out of here before another shot could get fired.

Corky groaned and yelped when they turned a corner - the last, she could already see the ramp. They did not have more time, though. Nina could not let Corky die now, not after everything, not after she had shot someone dead for him.

 _Mama,_ it rang in her mind. _Just killed a man..._

She propped Corky up against the wall of the ship just by the ramp. Leaning on her like this, they would not be able to go down the ramp. Nina thought about hoisting him on her back - but it would be hard to keep her balance like that.  
Maybe she could just slide him down - but then, what? Assuming, of course, that he made it to the bottom in his condition.

"Corky," she said and patted him lightly on the cheek. "Corky, look at me... Where's your phone? Do you have your phone?"

His mouth opened. Nina could not make out what he was saying, but he tried to reach for the pocket of his jeans. She pushed his hand out of the way and then pulled the phone out for him. Unlike her, he must have charged the phone before they left; Nina's heart soared at the sight of a full battery.

"Hey," she said as his eyelids drooped. "You need to open it for me."

Corky's fingers were shaking and he needed his three tries to put in the right pin, but he did it. She had barely pulled it back to her before Nina had already dialled. It rang twice, thrice, and then-

"Roper?"

"Richard?" Nina breathed out a deep sigh of relief. "It's Nina. We're in trouble."

There was a moment of silence before he repeated. "Trouble?"

"Corky and I are the harbour," she said, talking as quickly as she could; both because she was under pressure and because this was the only way she had the courage. "He got shot... this looks real bad. I mean really, really bad and I can't get him off the ship and if I call 911, then-"

"You don't call anyone," Roper said. "I'll be right there."

"He's lost a lot of blood," she said, afraid that he might not have understood how dire the situation was. "And there's still someone after us."

Again, there was a beat of silence in which her stomach dropped to the bottom of the ocean. "You shoot them in the face," Roper said. "You'll be fine."

He hung up on her. Nina let the phone sink and put into her own pocket. The other hand still held on tightly to the weapon. Hibic's weapon, the one that had killed him.

Nina patted Corky on the cheek again, hoping to keep him awake; she was not exactly sure why, she only knew that this was what people did in the movies. They said things like 'stay with me' and 'keep your eyes open'. Right now, there was nothing else she could do.

Time ticked by very slowly; she pulled the phone out again in which she thought were reasonable intervals - more often than not, she looked at the same digits twice or three times.  
Between those looks, she kept glancing over her shoulder. David's man had to be out here any second now; how long could it take? Had he found his boss by now?

Corky was breathing unsteadily; every now and again, he did not draw in a breath at all. Nina could not take it anymore. She got up and wandered up and down, leant across the railing to see if anyone was approaching. If only Roper got here now, Nina was sure everything would be fine.

A sudden blow to her head knocked her on her knees. Sputtering, she looked up to find her attacker, only to be hit again. Her head was hammering and the images in front of her eyes were swimming.  
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that this had to be David's man, but she could not make out his face. The voice was all the more louder in her ears, almost deafening, as if to compensate for her lack of sight.

"Got you, bitch," the voice said.

If only Corky made it out, she thought. It did not matter if it was too late for her - she had been dead when this night begun. Only Corky had not been - he need to make it out.

"You know what we do with people who kill their boss?", the voice asked.

Nina never got the answer. For the third time that night, a shot echoed through the air. David's goon swayed and then she heard him hit the ground while her sight was still swirling.  
Her fingers found their way to where she had been hit on the head - they came away bloody. Then her sight narrowed - and only one thing.

Roper was kicking away a gun that she was not sure where it belonged to. Behind him, someone in a red coat was kneeling by Corky, blocking her view.  
Her heart clenched - were they too late? Would Corky make it?

Through all of that, Roper held out his hand for her. When she took it, his lips quirked into a slight smile. "You're a bloody fool," he told her.

Nina had been a fool. She knew it afterwards and had known it through it all - but her foolishness had finally gotten rid of Hibic and it had also saved Roper from falling into the hands of law enforcement.

She herself had come out only with a concussion. Corky, of course, looked a whole lot worse. When her vision stopped swimming every time she moved her head, Nina made her way across Roper's mansion to Corky's room.  
Roper had hired his own personal doctors who had patched Corky up - though she did not exactly know how they did that without a hospital - and insisted on getting them back to Majorca as fast as they could.

Corky was pale and his cheeks were sunken. He was also very much asleep. Roper sat with his laptop at the back of the room and looked up when she closed the door very carefully behind her.  
She froze with her fingers still on the door handle. They had not talked about it yet; whether he still thought she was a traitor or not. Whether he still wanted to shoot her or not.

"I wanted to see how he's doing," Nina said.

Roper closed his laptop with a snap. "It'll take a while," he said. "But he'll be okay." His eyebrows knotted together. "Don't tell him you've found me here."

She shrugged. Far be it from her to talk about the good in him if he did not want her to.

"It's good to see you up again," Roper continued.

"Still a little weak on my feet," she said.

Nina glanced in Corky's direction again. He had stirred slightly and shifted to his side. She caught a glimpse of the thick bandages that wrapped around his stomach.  
Her own stomach turned at the sight and she suddenly felt dizzy again.

"Don't look so down," Roper said. "At least you made the bastard pay for it."

Nina could not quite bring herself to feel good about that. "So you're not going to send me over the plank, then?"

He laughed and Corky groaned lowly in his sleep. "No, I'm not," he said. "I figure you told me the truth."

Statistically, this was as good an apology as she was going to get. Nina took it as just that. If she was lucky, he would buy her a better phone as recompense.  
While she had spent her days in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to ignore the penetrating headaches, Nina had also made a decision. She had not forgotten her deal with Roper: he had been supposed to keep her safe as long as Hibic could be after her. He was not, anymore.

"Then I guess I'll leave the ship on my own," she said. "And onto dry land if that can be arranged."

Roper frowned at her. "I'd be sad to see you leave."

She swallowed. Her throat was suddenly dry. "Are you going to stop me?"

His lips twitched into a smirk. " _Nina_ , darling," he said. "I wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

 _Do you know what we do with people who kill the boss?_ We make them the new boss.

Of course, _technically_ , Nina had not really become the boss of Hibic's people. She did have a little of Hibic's money - courtesy of one generous Richard Roper - and she did suspected that one or two of Hibic's men had somehow made their way into her ranks; she did not ask too many questions about that sort of thing.

All that mattered to her was that her men were paid well enough not to stray and that they did not take any of the stuff they were selling themselves.  
Nina herself did not like weapons - but she figured whoever bought her drugs was to blame themselves. It was the best she could do to calm her conscience. If truth be told, she just cared a lot more about her money than what happened with her goods or the people who bought them.

After the first million - which she had not had to wait long for, again, thanks to Richard Roper - she had agreed to a short meeting with her sister. She had stayed long enough to show off her Gucci dress and her diamond necklace. Maria had been almost green with jealousy. They had not seen each other since.

Nina had not bought a jet or a yacht; both of those things made her a little sick. She had, however, bought a limousine that she loved like other people loved their pets. (She also had a dog that she loved like other people loved their children, but that was another story.)  
She had also hired a chauffeur who kept cursing about having to drive up the winding mountain roads in Switzerland.

"I do think we're almost there," she said soothingly. "It can't be far."

Though she had honestly thought that half an hour ago. Nina figured it was the snow that was mostly to blame - in conditions like this, they had to move up the road like a snail.

Finally, the dim lights of the Meister's hotel were coming into view. Her chauffeur breathed an audible sigh of relief and Nina, too, felt a little more at ease now that the journey was coming to an end.

They were supposed to meet with Roper and his men - she had even called Corky beforehand, just to make sure he would be there as well; every now and again, Nina had to check that he was actually walking around alive.  
Roper had a new girlfriend. It was Daniel who had told her that - he kept calling where when he thought Roper was not listening. He was listening, of course. Roper called her afterwards to make sure she was not offended. Nina told him she did not know why she should be.

He had actually meant to ask if she was jealous and when she spotted Roper and his entourage, she knew why. The girl was tall, slender and blonde and my, she was _beautiful_. In fact, if she wore high heels, she probably surpassed Roper in height. She also looked sad.

While her chauffeur was hurrying around the vehicle, Nina wrapped herself in her mantle. Roper had spotted her limousine by now - when she got out, he was already in front of her and pulled her into a hug.

"Elena," he said when he pulled back.

"Richard," she answered. "It is good to see you."

"And you," he said. "Can I introduce you to Jed?"

 _Jed,_ that was the girl's name. She had followed Roper and basically folded herself into his side. Nina could not help the twitch of her eyebrow. "Pleasure, I'm sure."

Jed did not look like she thought this was a pleasure, but she also did not look like anything around her was a pleasure.  
 _Maybe he's kidnapped her_ , Nina thought to herself. _Wouldn't be the first time._

Nina was not jealous, she decided. Not about Roper, not about the life that Jed was leading. She liked her own a lot better now.

Corky blew her a kiss as a greeting and she rolled her eyes at him. He climbed the stairs to the entrance door as if nothing bad had ever happened to him.  
Sandy and Caroline had clearly left their kids with a babysitter; it did not do them any good. They had to interrupt their bickering to greet her.

One of the staff members hurried forward to greet them in the entrance hall. His posture was impeccable for the late hour, but the expression on his face was haunted.

"My people have made a reservation," Roper said loudly when the man's eyes had fallen onto Jed. "Dicky Roper. And you are?"

The man straightened slightly. "Pine," he said. "I'm the night manager."

* * *

 **Sooo... and that wraps it up. Thanks to everyone who followed this story and especially to fairytale07 for reviewing so many chapters!  
If y'all enjoyed this chapter, then please leave me a review!**

 **Also, if you liked this, maybe check out one of my other stories, I've written for many different fandoms and am just about to publish the sequel to my Thor/Avengers story, so maybe give it a try!**

 **With my self-promotion all done, I wish you all a lovely day :)**


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